JOSEPH  GRINNEL 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


NEW  ENGLAND  BIRD  LIFE 


BEING   A 


MANUAL 


OP 


NEW  ENGLAND  ORNITHOLOGY 


REVISED    AND    EDITED    FROM    THE    MANUSCRIPT    OF 

WINFRID   A.  STEARNS 

MEMBER  OF  THE  NUTTALL  ORNITHOLOGICAL  CLUB    ETC. 

BY 

DR.    ELLIOTT    COUES    U.S.A. 

MEMBER  OF  THE   ACADEMY    ETC 


PART  L  —  OSCINES 


BOSTON 
LEE     AND     SHEPARD     PUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK    CHARLES  T.  DILLINGHAM 

1881 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


UNivcnoiTY  or  OA 


PUBLISHERS'  NOTE. 

As  circumstances  beyond  the  control  of  the  editor  prevent  his 
revision  at  present  of  the  whole  work,  that  portion  embracing  the 
large  order  Oscines  is  issued  in  advance  as  Part  I.,  to  be  followed, 
as  soon  as  practicable,  by  a  second  volume,  completing  the 
treatise. 


COPYRIGHT,  1881, 
BY    LEE    AND    SHEPARD. 


A  U  Rights  Reserved. 


BOSTON  STEREOTYPE  FOUNDBTT, 
No.  4  PEAKL  STBKET. 


TO 

MY    FATHER, 

THE  LATE  PRESIDENT  OF  AMHERST  COLLEGE; 

AND    TO 

PROFESSOR    LOUIS   AGASSIZ, 

WHO    FIRST    INSPIRED    ME    WITH    THE    LOVE    OF    SCIENCE, 

Cjjis  $olunu 

IS  AFFECTIONATELY  AND  RESPECTFULLY 

DEDICATED. 


CONTENTS. 


PACK 

EDITOR'S  PREFACE 5 

INTRODUCTION 9 

§i.   GENERAL  DEFINITIONS 9 

2.  PREPARATION  OF  SPECIMENS  FOR  STUDY      .        .        .21 

3.  THE  SUBJECT  OF  FAUNAL  AREAS 34 

4.  ON  THE  LITERATURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  ORNITHOLOGY  41 
BIRDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 51 

Family  Turdidce :  Thrushes          .         .         .         .51 

Saxicolida :  Stone  Chats,  &c.  .         .       67 

Sylviidce :  Sylvians    .  ...       71 

Parida :  Titmice 82 

Sittidce:  Nuthatches       ....      87 

CerthiidcB :  Creepers 90 

Troglodytida :  Wrens 93 

Alaudidce:  Larks 102 

MotacillidcE :  Wagtails 104 

Sylvicolida :  American  Warblers          .        .106 

Tanagridcz:  Tanagers          .         .         .         .177 

Hirnndinida :  Swallows          .         .         .         .181 

Ampelidce :  Waxwings         .         .         .         .191 

Vireonidcz:  Greenlets          .        .        .        -195 


4  x         CONTENTS. 

PAnn 

Family  Laniidce :         Shrikes    .......  207 

Fringillidce :  Finches 214 

Icteridce:         American  Starlings           ....  292 

Corvidce :        Crows  and  Jays        .         .         .        .         .  313 

INDEX  OF  ENGLISH  NAMES 321 

INDEX  OF  SCIENTIFIC  NAMES 323 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


ALTHOUGH  several  publications  on  the  subject  of 
which  this  volume  treats  have  appeared,  no  complete 
and  satisfactory  exposition  of  the  Bird-life  of  New 
England  has  yet  been  given  to  the  public.  It  is  now 
many  years  since  Mr.  E.  A.  Samuels'  work  appeared ; 
and  that  treatise,  however  well  answering  former  re- 
quirements of  the  case,  would  scarcely  be  considered 
to  reflect  the  extent  of  our  present  knowledge.  Mr. 
H.  D.  Minot's  later  work,  which,  by  the  way,  is  a 
better  one,  as  far  as  it  goes,  than  some  of  his  critics 
seem  disposed  to  admit,  treated  only  the  Land  and 
Game  Birds  of  New  England,  thus  leaving  untouched 
no  small  portion  of  the  subject.  In  1868,  the  present 
writer  published  "  A  List  of  the  Birds  of  New  Eng- 
land;" and,  in  1875,  a  paper  of  similar  plan  and  scope 
was  issued  by  Dr.  T.  M.  Brewer,  with  the  obvious  in- 
tention of  correcting  the  presumed  or  alleged  errors  of 
the  "List"  of  1868.  It  is  proper  to  add,  however,  that 
the  last-named  author  found  it  necessary  to  speedily  put 

5 


6  EDITORS    PREFACE. 

forth  two  supplementary  lists,  to  include  the  numerous 
species  which,  through  his  insufficient  information  and 
his  desire  to  reflect  upon  the  paper  of  his  predecessor, 
he  had  either  ignorantly  or  designedly  omitted. 

Neither  of  the  catalogues  of  New  England  Birds 
in  mention  professes  to  be  more  than  a  list  of  names, 
with  very  brief  items  respecting  the  life-histories,  of 
the  species  represented  ;  and  the  numerous  "  local  lists  " 
which  have  appeared  from  time  to  time  are  all  of  the 
same  contracted  scope.  The  most  valuable  of  these 
will  be  found  to  be  the  writings  of  Boardman,  Verrill, 
and  Maynard  for  Maine,  those  of  Maynard  for  New 
Hampshire,  of  Allen  and  Minot  for  Massachusetts, 
and  especially  of  Merriam  for  Connecticut.  The  Bul- 
letin of  the  Nuttall  Ornithological  Glub  contains  num- 
berless notices  of  New  England  Birds,  by  the  writers 
already  mentioned,  and  by  Purdie,  Brewster,  Deane, 
Bailey,  and  many  others  who  have  contributed  so 
largely  to  the  general  store  of  information  which  we 
have  acquired.  For  much  assistance  in  collating  and 
sifting  the  scattered  records  which  were  necessarily 
to  be  examined,  the  editor  is  under  special  obligations 
to  his  friend,  Mr.  H.  A.  Purdie,  of  Boston. 

While  it  is  doubtless  true  that  we  have  more  precise 
and  more  nearly  complete  knowledge  of  the  Birds  of 
New  England  than  we  have  yet  acquired  of  those  of 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE.  7 

any  equal  area  in  the  United  States,  it  is  nevertheless 
a  fact  that  we  possess  no  treatise  which  adequately  re- 
flects our  present  understanding  of  the  subject.  It  is 
the  object  of  the  present  volume  to  go  carefully  over 
the  whole  ground,  and  to  present,  in  concise  and  con- 
venient form,  an  epitome  of  the  Bird-life  of  New  Eng- 
land. The  claims  of  each  species  to  be  considered 
a  member  of  the  New  England  Fauna  are  critically 
examined,  and  not  one  is  admitted  upon  insufficient 
evidence  of  its  occurrence  within  this  area ;  the  design 
being  to  give  a  thoroughly  reliable  list  of  the  Birds, 
with  an  account  of  the  leading  facts  in  the  life-history 
of  each  species.  The  plan  of  the  work  includes  brief 
descriptions  of  the  birds  themselves,  enabling  one  to 
identify  any  specimen  he  may  have  in  hand ;  the  local 
distribution,  migration,  and  relative  abundance  of  every 
species ;  together  with  as  much  general  information 
respecting  their  habits  as  can  conveniently  be  brought 
within  the  compass  of  a  hand-book  of  New  England 
Ornithology. 

Mr.  Stearns  undertook  this  work  several  years  ago, 
at  the  writer's  suggestion  that  such  a  treatise  was  much 
to  be  desired,  and  could  not  fail  to  subserve  a  useful 
purpose.  Having  been  diligently  revised  from  time  to 
time,  in  the  light  of  our  steadily  increasing  knowledge, 
Mr.  Stearns'  manuscripts  have  been  submitted  to  the 


8  EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 

editor's  final  corrections.  In  revising,  and  to  some 
extent  rewriting,  them  for  publication,  the  editor  has 
been  influenced  by  the  author's  request  that  he  would 
alter  and  emend  at  his  own  discretion ;  becoming  in 
consequence  equally  responsible  for  the  accuracy  and 
completeness  of  the  work.  It  should  be  added,  more- 
over, that  Mr.  Stearns  has  had  full  permission  to 
make  such  use  as  he  saw  fit  of  any  of  the  editor's 
previous  publications.  The  illustrations  are  all  from 
these  sources.  The  work  having  thus  been  brought 
fully  up  to  date,  is  now  submitted  to  the  public  in 
the  confident  hope  that  it  will  be  favorably  received  by 
all  who  are  interested  in  the  attractive  and  agreeable 

study  of  our  native  birds. 

E.  C. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  May  31,  1880. 


INTRODUCTION. 


§  i.     GENERAL  DEFINITIONS. 

IT  will  tend  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  treatise  to  begin  the  volume  with  some 
general  definitions  respecting  the  classification  and 
structure  of  birds,  and  some  explanation  of  the  techni- 
cal terms  used  in  describing  them. 

According  to  Agassiz's  principles  of  classification, 
the  animal  kingdom  may  be  arranged  in  the  following 
divisions  :  — 

Branches :  Characterized  by  the  general  plan  of 
structure. 

Classes :  By  the  manner  in  which  that  plan  is  exe- 
cuted. 

Orders :  By  the  complication  of  structure. 

Families:  By  form. 

Genera :  By  details  of  execution  in  special  parts. 

Species  :  By  the  relation  of  individuals  to  each  other 
and  to  their  conditions  of  environment. 

Each  of  these  groups  may  be  again  divided  into  in- 
termediate ones,  distinguished  by  the  prefix  sub-.  The 
main  divisions  of  classes,  orders,  families,  genera,  and 
species,  are  in  practice  still  recognized  by  all  natural- 
ists, however  differently  they  interpret  the  significance 

9 


10  GENERAL    DEFINITIONS. 

of  such  terms,  and  however  widely  the  adherents  of 
the  modern  doctrine  of  Evolution  are  at  variance  with 
those  who  accept  Agassiz's  notion  of  the  separate  cre- 
ation and  fixity  of  species.  We  can  only  retain  the 
above  definition  of  species  with  the  understanding  that 
the  "relation  of  individuals  to  each  other"  is  genetic, 
all  species  bearing  to  each  other  the  relation  of  parent 
and  offspring ;  and  that  their  relation  to  "  conditions 
of  environment "  is  largely  one  of  cause  and  effect. 

The  study  of  any  particular  group  of  animals  con- 
stitutes one  of  the  special  departments  of  zoological 
science.  Thus,  Ornithology  is  the  science  of  birds ; 
and  with  it  is  generally  associated  Oology,  or  the  study 
of  their  eggs.  Birds  form  a  class  of  animals  easily 
recognized,  among  other  characteristics  of  more  or  less 
exclusive  pertinence,  by  the  possession  of  feathers  — 
those  peculiar  out-growths  from  the  skin  which  are 
found  in  no  other  class  than  that  of  Aves.  Birds  oc- 
cupy the  next  to  the  highest  place  in  the  scale  of  ani- 
mal life,  being  only  surpassed  in  relative  rank  by  the 
Mammalia,  to  which  man  himself  belongs.  Their 
closest  relationships,  however,  are  with  the  reptiles ; 
both  birds  and  reptiles  of  the  present  geologic  epoch 
being  believed  to  have  descended  from  a  common  an- 
cestry. Birds  of  previous  periods  in  the  world's  his- 
tory had  teeth,  and  presented  other  strong  reptilian 
characters,  which  have  gradually  been  lost  as  the  two 
branches  of  one  common  stock  diverged  from  each 
other  in  the  process  of  evolution.  Progressive  speciali- 
zation of  structure  and  coincident  differentiation  of 
function  have  resulted  in  the  extremely  modified  creat- 
ures we  now  know  as  birds,  and  produced  a  very 
clearly  defined  and  completely  circumscribed  class  of 


STRUCTURE  OF  FEATHERS.  II 

animals,  any  living  member  of  which  may  be  recog- 
nized, as  already  said,  by  the  possession  of  feathers. 
So  highly  modified  has  the  original  type  become,  that 
it  is  one  of  the  triumphs  of  modern  science  to  have 
traced  the  lineage  of  birds  back  to  its  point  of  depart- 
ure from  reptiles. 

Structure  of  Feathers.  A  perfect  feather,  that  is, 
one  possessing  all  the  parts  a  feather  can  have,  con* 
sists  of  a  main  stem,  or  central  shaft,  and  a  supple- 
mentary stem,  or  after-shaft;  each  of  these  bearing 
two  webs  or  vanes,  one  on  each  side.  The  main  stem 
is  divided  into  two  parts :  the  hard,  horny,  hollow  por- 
tion next  to  the  skin,  and  the  softer,  pithy  part,  which 
alone  bears  the  vanes.  At  the  point  where  the  web 
begins  there  is  a  little  pit,  called  the  umbilicus.  The 
after-shaft  is  of  similar  structure  and  likewise  bears 
webs  ;  it  springs  from  the  main  shaft  near  the  umbilicus  ; 
it  is  commonly  smaller  than  the  rest  of  the  feather,  and 
is  often  wanting ;  it  is  not  developed  on  the  large  stiff 
feathers  of  the  wings  and  tail.  The  vane  of  a  feather 
consists  of  a  number  of  flat,  narrowly-linear  plates 
closely  packed  together,  standing  out  from  the  shaft  at 
a  varying  oblique  angle.  Each  such  plate,  or  lamina, 
is  called  a  barb  ;  and  each  barb  bears  a  series  of  pro- 
cesses or  offsets  called  barbules,  just  as  the  stem  bears 
the  barbs.  It  is  these  lesser  processes  that  confer  co- 
herency upon  the  barbs,  making  the  vane  a  web. 
For  they  are  variously  fringed  with  still  lesser  pro- 
cesses called  barbicels  and  booklets,  the  interlocking 
of  which  gives  consistency  to  the  whole  feather. 

Many  feathers,  however,  do  not  answer  to  any  such 
description,  feathers  being  endlessly  modified  in  the 
details  of  their  structure  in  different  birds  and  on  dif- 


12  GENERAL,   DEFINITIONS. 

ferent  parts  of  the  same  bird.  Three  principal  modi- 
fications have  led  naturalists  to  recognize  as  many 
classes  of  feathers.  These  are  :  the  pennaceous,  char- 
acterized as  above ;'  the  flumaceous,  or  downy ;  and 
the  jiloplumaceous,  or  hairy.  Downy  feathers  have 
a  short  weak  stem  with  soft  barbs,  very  slender  bar- 
biiles,  rudimentary  barbicels,  and  no  booklets.  Hairy 
feathers  are  still  further  reduced  to  thin  stiff  shafts, 
barbs  and  barbules,  lacking  the  other  structures.  A 
feather  may  be  partly  downy,  and  partly  pennaceous. 
There  is  a  particular  kind  of  feather  found  in  various 
birds,  called  powder-down.  The  great  bulk  of  a  bird's 
plumage  is  made  up  of  the  more  perfect  kind  of  feath- 
ers called  contour-feathers,  from  the  fact  that  they 
largely  determine  the  apparent  shape  of  the  bird ;  but 
among  these  contour-feathers  nestle  the  down-feathers, 
forming  a  more  or  less  complete  investiture  of  the 
body,  the  thready  plumes  being  intermixed  with  the 
latter.  One  may  readily  observe  these  different  kinds 
of  feathers  on  plucking  a  duck,  for  example.  Although 
the  feathers  of  a  bird  usually  appear  to  cover  the  whole 
body,  they  are  very  seldom  everywhere  inserted  in  the 
skin.  They  grow  in  special  places  called  feather- 
tracts,  separated  by  naked  spaces,  the  form  and  dis- 
position of  these  tracts  and  spaces,  thus  mutually  dis- 
tinguished, being  characteristic  to  some  extent  of  the 
different  groups  of  birds,  and  consequently  being  of 
use  for  purposes  of  classification.  Most  birds  possess 
peculiar  apparatus  for  oiling  their  feathers,  in  the  form 
of  a  gland  situated  on  the  rump.  The  development 
of  feathers  is  analogous  to  that  of  hair  and  scales, 
though  their  structure  is  so  much  more  complicated. 
The  plumage  is  renewed  by  the  process  of  moulting. 


TOPOGRAPHY    OF    A    BIRD.  13 

For  convenience  of  description  the  exterior  of  a  bird 
is  divided  into  various  parts  which  have  received  defi- 
nite names,  and  the  modifications  of  these  parts  are  de- 
scribed in  certain  technical  terms,  which  it  is  necessary 
for  the  student  to  learn.  The  "  topography  "  of  a  bird 
is  illustrated  in  the  accompanying  figure  (Fig.  i),  in 
which  the  principal  parts  are  defined  and  named. 


23        22 


FIG.  1.  —  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  A  BIRD,  i,  forehead  (frons),  2,  lore.  3,  circumocular  region. 
4,  crown  {vertex).  5,  eye.  6,  hind  head  {occiput}.  7,  nape  {nucha}.  8,  hind  neck  (cer- 
vix}. 9,  side  of  neck.  10,  interscapular  region,  n,  dors-urn,  or  back  proper,  including 
10.  12,  notceum,  or  upper  part  of  body  proper,  including  10,  n,  13.  13,  rump  (uro- 
fygiitm).  14,  upper  tail-coverts.  15,  tail.  16,  under  tail-coverts.  17,  tarsus.  18,  abdo- 
men. 19,  hind  toe  (hallux).  20,  gastrceum,  including  18  and  24.  21,  outer  or  fourth 
toe.  22,  middle  or  third  toe.  23,  side  of  the  body.  24,  breast  (pectus).  25,  prima- 
ries. 26,  secondaries.  27,  tertiaries ;  Nos.  25,  26,  27,  are  all  remiges.  28,  primary 
coverts.  29,  ahila,  or  bastard  wing.  30,  greater  coverts.  31,  median  coverts,  32,  lesser 
coverts.  33,  the  ''throat,"  including  34,  37,  38.  34,  jttg-uhem,  or  lower  throat.  35,  aur- 
iculars.  36,  malar  region.  37,  gula,  or  middle  throat.  38,  mentiim,  or  chin.  39,  angle 
of  commissure,  or  corner  of  mouth.  40,  ramus  of  under  mandible.  41,  side  of  under 
mandible.  42,  gonys.  43,  apex,  or  tip  of  bill.  44,  tomla,  or  culling  edges  of  the  bill. 
45,  cjtlmen,  or  ridge  of  upper  mandible,  corresponding  to  gonys.  4$,  side  of  upper 
mandible.  47,  nostril.  48  passes  across  the  bill  a  little  in  front  of  its  base. 

Referring  to'  this  figure  for  a  general  notion  of  the 
parts  of  a  bird,  we  may  take  up  some  of  those  charac- 


14  GENERAL    DEFINITIONS. 

ters  of  the  bill,  feet,  wings  and  tail,  with  which  de- 
scriptive ornithology  is  so  largely  occupied. 

The  Bill.  Whatever  its  shape,  this  part  of  a  bird 
always  consists  of  an  upper  and  an  under  mandible, 
these  being  its  bony  framework,  covered  with  horny 
or  leathery  integument.  Some  birds  of  early  periods 
had  true  teeth,  like  most  reptiles  and  mammals,  but 
such  is  not  the  case  with  any  birds  now  living ;  the 
hardness  of  the  bill  answering  every  purpose  of 
teeth.  The  principal  parts  of  the  bill  are  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  2.  In  most  birds  the  covering  of  the 


a    b    c  d  e 


FIG.  2.  — PARTS  OF  A  BILL,  a,  side  of  upper  mandible ;  £,  oilmen;  c,  nasal  fossa ;  ^nos- 
tril ;  e  (see  below)  ;  /•,  gape,  or  whole  commissural  line  :  g,  rictus  :  A,  commissural 
point  or  angle  of  the  mouth  ;  /,  ramus  of  under  jaw  ;  /,  tomia  of  under  mandible  (the 
reference  line  e  should  have  been  drawn  to  indicate  the  corresponding  tomia  of  the 
upper  mandible) ;  k,  angle  of  gonys  ;  /,  gonys  ;  m,  side  of  under  mandible  ;  «,  tips  of 
mandibles. 

bill  is  entire;  in  some,  as  in  the  Petrel,  it  is  pieced. 
Birds  of  prey  and  some  others  have  a  soft  swollen  cov- 
ering of  the  base  of  the  upper  mandible,  called  the 
cere ;  and  in  such  the  tip  of  this  mandible  is  hooked 
over  that  of  the  lower  mandible.  The  upper  outline 
of  the  bill  is  the  culmen,  the  corresponding  lower  out- 
line is  the  gonys,  the  line  of  meeting  of  the  two  man- 
dibles is  the  commissure.  The  nostrils  open  usually 
at  the  base  of  the  upper  mandible,  and  commonly  in  a 


THE    FOOT.  15 

depression  called  the  nasal  fossa ;  they  are  often  hid- 
den by  bristly  or  otherwise  modified  feathers.  The 
various  forms  which  the  bill  assumes  in  different 
groups  of  birds  are  indicated  by  terms,  the  meaning 
of  which  is  usually  obvious. 

The  Foot.  Much  misunderstanding  prevails  re- 
specting the  parts  of  a  bird's  legs  and  feet  in  compari- 
son with  those  of  a  quadruped.  Taking  an  ordinary 
case,  as  that  of  a  Robin  for  instance,  that  part  of  the 


FIG.  3.  —  BONES  OF  A  BIRD'S  LEG  AND  FOOT.  (From  a  Loon.)  A,  hip.  B,  knee. 
C,  heel,  or  ankle  joint.  D,  bases  of  toes.  a,  thigh-bone  (femur)  ;  A  to  B  is  the' 
thigh,  or  "second  joint."  /z,  knee-cap  (patella],  b,  tibia;  and  c,  fibula;  these  two- 
bones  reaching  from  B  to  C,  and  representing  the  le«  proper,  or  shin  (ems').  From 
C  to  D  only,  that  is,  from  heel  to  toes,  is  the  foot  proper,  chiefly  consisting,  in  a  bird, 
of  the  metatarsus,  but  in  descriptive  ornithology  commonly  called  the  tarsus ;  in  com- 
mon parlance,  the  shank.  The  whole  limb,  down  to  C,  is  commonly  buried  in  the  feath- 
ers ;  beyond  C  is  the  naked  part,  d*  metatarsal  bone.,  consisting  of  three  metatarsal 
bones  fused  in  one,  commonly  called  the  "  tarsus."  m,  accessory  metatarsal  bone,  sup- 
porting it,  the  first  or  hind  toe,  of  two  joints  ;  zt,  second  or  inner  front  toe,  of  three 
joints  ;  3^,  third  or  middle  front  toe,  of  four  joints  ;  \t,  fourth  or  outer  front  toe,  of 
five  joints.  These  joints  are  the  phalanges.  The  dot-line  i  crosses  the  basal  pha- 
langes of  all  the  toes  ;  dot-line  2,  the  next  set  of  phalanges.  (N.B.  In  the  Loon,  the 
tibia  projects  above  the  knee-joint  ;  but  such  is  the  case  in  very  few  birds,  the  knee  of 
most  birds  being  smoothly  convex,  as  in  man.) 

hinder  limb  which  is  both  feathered  and  hidden  in  the 
general  plumage  of  the  body,  corresponds  to  the  whole 


i6 


GENERAL    DEFINITIONS. 


leg  of  a  quadruped  as  far  down  as  the  ankle-joint. 
The  first  joint  which  appears  is  one  the  convexity  of 
which  looks  backwards;  this  is  the  ankle-joint.  The 
slender,  naked,  and  scaly  part  thence  downward,  is 
anatomically  the  foot  of  the  bird,  ending  in  the  toes, 
on  which  latter  alone  the  bird  rests.  Recalling  the 
appearance  of  a  fowl  as  usually  brought  to  table,  the 
reader  will  perceive  that  the  whole  foot  of  the  bird  has 


a 


FIG.  4.  —  FEET,  c,  ordinary  passerine  foot  (tarsus  and  toes),  with  tarsus  scutellate  in 
front,  "booted"  on  the  sides  and  behind,  b,  foot  of  Pigeon,  scutellate  in  front, 
reticulate  on  sides,  a,  foot  of  Plover,  entirely  reticulate. 

been  removed  ;  the  "drumstick,"  as  it  is  called,  is  that 
part  of  the  limb  between  the  ankle  and  the  knee,  cor- 
responding to  the  "  shin  "  of  man,  while  what  is  known 
as  the  "second  joint"  in  carving,  is  the  thigh,  or  that 
part  between  the  knee  and  the  hip.  The  terms  "leg" 
and  "foot"  are  very  loosely  applied  to  birds.  In  some 
birds,  especially  the  Waders,  the  lower  part  of  the  leg 
or  shin  is  naked,  and  protrudes  from  the  general  cov- 
ering of  the  body;  but  ordinarily  the  whole  leg,  as 
well  as  the  thigh,  is  hidden  in  the  feathers. 


THE    £OOT.  17 

In  descriptive  ornithology,  the  foot,  or  that  part  of 
the  limb  between  the  heel  and  the  toes,  is  commonly 
called  the  tarsus.  In  some  cases,  as  those  of  most 
Owls,  it  is  clothed  with  feathers  like  the  leg ;  it  is  or- 
dinarily, however,  covered  with  horny  or  leathery  in- 
tegument resembling  that  of  the  bill,  and  this  hard 
skin  is  usually  broken  up  into  a  number  of  scales  or 
plates,  the  arrangement  of  which  has  been  found  of 
importance  in  classification. 

The  number  of  toes  in  most  birds  is  four ;  there 
are  never  more ;  sometimes  there  are  but  three,  and 
the  Ostrich  has  but  two.  There  are  usually  three  in 
front  and  one  behind ;  sometimes,  as  in  the  Wood- 
peckers and  Cuckoos,  there  are  two  before  and  two 
behind  ;  very  rarely  all  four  toes  point  forward.  When 
there  are  but  three  toes,  the  hinder  is  always  the  miss- 
ing one.  A  bird's  toes  are  numbered  from  one  to  four, 
the  hind  toe  being  the  first,  then  the  inner  front  toe, 
next  the  middle  front  toe,  and  lastly  the  outer  front 
toe.  These  digits  are  connected  together  by  complete 
or  partial  webs  in  swimming  and  many  wading  birds  ; 
and  they  usually  bear  well-formed,  arched,  and  acute 
claws,  corresponding  to  the  claws,  nails,  or  hoofs  of 
quadrupeds.  The  many  modifications  of  the  feet,  like 
those  of  the  bill,  serve  in  large  measure  to  distinguish 
different  groups  of  birds. 

The  part  of  a  bird's  hind  limb  called  the  tarsus  con- 
sists of  several  originally  distinct  bones,  which  more  or 
less  completely  fuse  together  in  adult  life.  The  toes, 
on  the  contrary,  retain  the  mobility  of  the  several  joints 
of  which  they  are  composed;  and,  as  a  rule,  the  hind 
toe  has  two  joints,  the  inner  front  toe  three,  the  middle 
front  toe  four,  and  the  outer  front  toe  five. 
2 


i8 


GENERAL    DEFINITIONS. 


The  Wing.  The  wing  of  a  bird  represents  the  fore 
limb  of  a  quadruped,  or  the  arm  of  man,  modified 
for  flight  in  a  very  remarkable  manner.  It  joins  the 
body  by  a  shoulder-joint ;  thence  a  single  long  bone, 
the  humerus,  extends  to  the  elbow,  whence  a  pair  of 
bones,  the  ulna  and  radius,  reach  to  the  wrist.  There 
are  some  small  bones  in  the  wrist-joint,  and  the  limb 


FIG.  5. —  BONES  OF  A  BIRD'S  WING.  (Taken  from  a  young  chicken,  in  which  the 
epiphyses,  or  caps  of  growing  bone,  are  still  separate  from  the  shafts.)  A,  shoul- 
der. B,  elbow.  C.  wrist,  or  carpus,  sometimes  loosely  called  ''shoulder."  E,  junc- 
ture of  metncarpal  bones  of  hand  with  phalanges  of  the  finger.  D,  tip  of  principal 
finger.  A  to  B,  arm,  or  upper  arm,  represented  by  a,  the  humerus.  B  to  C,  fore- 
arm, represented  by  b,  the  ulna,  and  c,  the  radius,  d  and  e,  the  two  carpal  or  wrist- 
bones  (radial  and  ulnar).  The  figure  1  indicates  lines  running  to  the  epiphyses  of  the 
humerus  ;  the  ends  of  ulna  and  radius  show  similar  epiphyses.  separated  by  zigzag 
lines  from  the  shafts  of  these  bones  ;  g  and  f  are  similarly  the  epiphyses  of  the  two 
principal  metacarpal  bones  :  k,  the  third,  and  /,  the  fourth,  h  is  the  second  metacarpal 
bone  (there  is  no  first  metacarpal  in  birds),  h,  k,  and  /  soon  fuse  together,  making  a 
single  compound  metacarpal  bone,  corresponding  to  the  metatarsal  bone  ("tarsus")  of 
the  foot ;  the  ulna  and  radius  correspond  to  the  tibia  and  fibula  of  the  leg  ;  the  hume- 
rus to  the  femur  ;  forearm  to  shm  :  arm  to  thigh.  The  compound  metacarpal  bone 
fg  hkl  bears  the  "thumb"  phalanx  z,  and  the  two  finger  phalanges  m,  ».  d'  is 
the  first  finger  or  "thumb,"  bearing  the  alula,  or  "bastard  wing."  d"  is  the  next 
finger,  and  there  may  be  another,  not  represented.  The  "  primaries  "  are  those  feath- 
ers that  grow  on  the  space  marked  by  the  lines  a1,  or  from  C  to  D  ;  the  secondaries  on 
the  space  $',  or  from  B  to  C  ;  the  tertiaries  upon  c1 ;  the  scapularies  on  the  upper  arra5a". 

is  finished  by  several  bones  of  the  hand,  including 
those  of  the  fingers.  Just  as  in  the  case  of  the  leg,  the 
bones  and  joints  correspond  completely  with  those  of  a 


THE    WING.  Ip 

quadruped.  The  convexity  of  the  wrist-joint,  or  car- 
pus, looks  forward,  as  that  of  the  ankle-joint  does  back- 
ward ;  and  being  the  most  prominent  bend  in  the  limb 
away  from  the  body,  is  sometimes  very  wrongly  called 
the  "shoulder."  But  the  shoulder-joint  of  a  bird  is 
found  high  up,  buried  in  the  muscles  of  the  breast ;  the 
first  bend  in  the  limb  has  its  convexity  directed  back- 
ward, and  corresponds  to  our  elbow.  The  wing  is 
clothed  with  ordinary  feathers,  like  those  of  the  body, 
but  has  in  addition  the  large  stiff  quills,  which  make 
up  the  greater  part  of  the  expanse  of  the  wing.  These 
quills,  usually  nine  or  ten  in  number,  which  grow  upon 
the  pinion-bones,  that  is,  upon  the  bones  of  the  hand 
and  fingers,  beyond  the  wrist,  are  called  the  primaries. 
Those  which  are  situated  upon  the  ulna,  one  of  the 
two  bones  between  the  wrist  and  elbow,  are  called  sec- 
ondaries. A  few  of  the  innermost  of  these,  or  a  row 
of  such  feathers  above  the  elbow,  are  often  described 
as  the  tertiarics.  The  bases  of  these  large  feathers 
are  protected  by  several  rows  of  coverts,  as  they  are 
called,  the  special  arrangement  of  which  sometimes 
affords  good  characters  for  classification. 

The  bones  of  a  bird's  hand,  like  those  of  the  tarsus, 
are  originally  distinct,  but  soon  fuse  together.  The 
number  of  digits,  or  ringers,  which  remain  separate  is 
normally  two  or  three ;  the  outermost  of  which,  com- 
monly called  the  "thumb,"  bears  the  set  of  feathers 
known  as  the  alula,  or  "  bastard  wing." 

In  case  the  first  primary  of  a  bird  is  rudimentary,  or 
very  much  shorter  than  the  second,  it  is  commonly 
said  to  be  spurious.  The  first  and  largest  row  of  wing- 
coverts,  overlying  the  secondary  quills,  are  the  greater 
coverts ;  the  next  row  are  the  median  coverts',  the 


20 


GENERAL    DEFINITIONS. 


remaining  much  smaller  ones,  in  several  rows,  are  col- 
lectively called  lesser  coverts.  None  of  these  feathers 
are  to  be  confounded  with  those  protecting  the  bases 
of  the  primary  quills.  The  large  feathers  of  the  wings 
are  collectively  known  as  the  remiges. 

The  Tail.  This  member  consists  of  several  large 
feathers,  inserted,  like  the  rays  of  a  fan,  upon  the 
coccyx,  or  rump.  The  bones  of  this  part  of  the  spinal 
column  protrude  but  little  from  the  body,  the  oppo- 


FlG.  6.— DIAGRAM  OF  SHAPES  OF  TAILS,  adc,  rounded;  ae c,  graduate  ;  aic, 
cuneate-graduate  ;  a  I  c,  cuneate  ;  a  b  c ,  double  rounded  ;  f  e  g,  square  \  f  h  g,  emar- 
ginate  ;  fn  e  o  g,  double  eniarginate  ;  k  i  m,  forked  ',  k  e  nti  deeply  forked  ;  k  o  m, 
forficate. 

site  of  their  condition  among  quadrupeds,  and  the 
last  one  is  peculiarly  enlarged  and  modified  in  shape, 
to  support  the  feathers.  These  are  called  the  rectrices  ; 
they  are  usually  large  and  stout,  like  the  remiges  of  the 
wings,  and  their  bases  are  protected  above  and  below 
by  smaller  feathers,  the  upper  and  under  tail-coverts, 
or  tcctrices.  The  shapes,  and  especially  the  relative 
lengths,  of  these  large  feathers,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
corresponding  ones  of  the  wings,  affect  the  form  of 
the  tail  as  a  whole,  and  give  rise  to  many  descriptive 
terms. 


PREPARATION    OF    SPECIMENS   FOR    STUDY.  21 


§  2.  PREPARATION  OF  SPECIMENS  FOR  STUDY. 

IN  preparing  specimens  for  scientific  purposes,  it  is 
not  worth  while  to  make  a  collection  of  mounted  birds, 
however  desirable  such  may  be  for  ornamental  pur- 
poses. In  the  first  place,  it  takes  too  much  time,  which 
may  more  profitably  be  devoted  to  field-work,  and  the 
study  of  its  results.  Next,  mounted  birds  take  up  too 
much  room,  and  require  special  contrivances,  such  as 
glass  cases,  for  their  proper  preservation  and  exhibi- 
tion. Finally,  and  especially,  mounted  birds  are  not 
so  easily  handled  and  examined  as  skins,  and  are 
therefore  less  readily  available  for  study.  Mounting 
birds,  therefore,  for  other  than  ornamental  purposes, 
or  to  gratify  an  aesthetic  taste,  is  not  to  be  recommend- 
ed, unless  one  wishes  to  establish  a  regular  museum. 
The  ends  of  science  are  much  more  readily  secured, 
in  all  ordinary  cases,  by  making  a  collection  of  skins, 
to  be  preserved  in  the  drawers  of  a  cabinet.  Such  a 
receptacle,  somewhat  resembling  a  bureau,  proves  very 
convenient,  both  for  the  storage  and  the  transportation 
of  specimens.  The  drawers  should  fit  tightly,  to  ex- 
clude dust  and  bugs;  and  the  case  may  also  be  pro- 
vided with  folding-doors,  if  desired,  as  an  additional 
safeguard.  Camphor,  insect-powder,  or  some  other 
approved  insecticide,  should  be  freely  used.  The  di- 
mensions of  a  convenient  cabinet  may  be  about  four 
feet  in  height,  three  feet  in  width,  and  two  feet  deep, 
having  drawers  of  graded  depths,  from  the  deepest  at 
the  bottom  to  the  shallowest  at  the  top.  The  deeper 
drawers  may  be  fitted  with  movable  trays.  In  filling 
such  a  cabinet,  specimens  should  be  assorted  somewhat 


22  PREPARATION    OF    SPECIMENS    FOR    STUDY. 

according  to  their  bulk,  and  each  drawer  should  bear  a 
label  indicating  its  contents.  The  expense  of  such  a 
cabinet  would  be  of  course  according  to  the  elegance 
of  its  material  and  finish  ;  the  main  object  to  be  se- 
cured is  tight  fitting  of  the  drawers. 

Though  no  complete  treatise  on  the  collecting  and 
preparing  of  specimens  is  here  necessary,  a  few  hints 
to  intending  collectors  of  little  experience  may  well  be 
given.  Birds  may  be  trapped  or  snared,  but  are  almost 
always  shot.  The  choice  of  a  gun  is  not  easy,  and 
must  depend  largely  upon  the  collector's  means,  if  not 
also  upon  his  individual  preference.  The  modern 
double-barrelled  breech-loader  is  unquestionably  the 
best  arm  for  general  purposes  ;  but  a  good  reliable  arm 
of  this  kind  is  necessarily  expensive,  and  many  col- 
lectors make  use  of  cane-guns,  or  even  of  a  kind  of 
pistol  now  extensively  manufactured,  to  which  a  skel- 
eton stock  may  be  fitted  if  desired.  Such  arms  are 
very  cheap,  perfectly  safe,  and  become  quite  effective 
in  the  hands  of  a  person  skilled  in  their  use.  What- 
ever weapon  be  selected,  it  should  be  a  breech-loader, 
and  only  fixed  ammunition,  in  metallic  or  paper  car- 
tridges, should  be  employed.  Muzzle-loading  fire- 
arms are  not  to  be  thought  of  for  a  moment ;  they  are 
anachronisms.  Most  of  the  collector's  shooting  is  to 
be  done  with  the  finest  shot  that  can  be  secured,  in 
order  to  injure  the  specimens  as  little  as  possible. 
Nearly  all  inexperienced  persons  use  too  much  shot, 
of  too  large  size.  But  since  the  collector  will  require 
to  secure  large  as  well  as  small  birds,  and  at  long  as 
well  as  short  range,  he  should  provide  himself  with  an 
assortment  of  cartridges,  loaded  with  shot  of  several  dif- 
ferent sizes.  Three-fourths  of  the  cartridges,  at  least, 


CHOICE    OF    GUN    AND    AMMUNITION.  23 

should  contain  small  charges  of  mustard-seed  shot,  and 
the  remainder  may  be  loaded  with  No.  8  and  No.  4. 
The  kind  of  charge  in  each  may  be  indicated  by  using 
cartridges  of  different  colors  ;  or,  in  the  case  of  metal- 
lic shells,  by  having  the  shot-wads  of  different  colors, 
or  marked  with  a  figure  showing  the  No.  of  the  con- 
tained shot.  Collectors  who  allow  themselves  to  be- 
come nervous  or  excited  in  view  of  rare  birds  some- 
times get  hold  of  the  wrong  cartridge ;  but  very  little 
thoughtfulness  will  render  such  a  mishap  unlikely  to 
occur.  The  collector  cannot  be  too  careful  to  have  his 
cartridges  well  made,  and  to  always  be  sure  to  know 
exactly  what  kind  of  a  load  is  in  each  one  of  them. 
The  general  rule  in  loading  is  bulk  for  bulk  of  powder 
and  shot,  whatever  the  size  of  the  latter.  A  medium  or 
rather  coarse-grained  powder  is  preferable  for  breech- 
loaders. Use  of  Ely's  or  other  good  thick  chemically 
prepared  wads  tends  to  keep  a  gun  from  fouling.  It 
is  almost  needless  to  add  that,  whatever  kind  of  a  gun 
be  selected,  the  weapon  must  be  kept  clean,  to  insure 
its  greatest  durability  and  efficiency. 

As  birds  inhabit  all  kinds  of  places,  it  is  impossible 
to  tell  the  collector  where  to  go  to  find  them,  unless  he 
be  in  search  of  particular  species ;  and  the  haunts  of 
these  can  only  be  known  to  him  with  the  ripening  of 
his  general  experience  in  field-work.  Such  things 
must  be  learned  in  actual  practice.  One  about  to  form 
a  general  collection  of  the  birds  of  any  particular  vicin- 
ity will  do  well  to  cover  the  whole  ground,  ransacking 
successively  every  locality.  As  a  general  rule,  well 
watered  and  wooded  places  offer  most  of  abundance 
and  variety  in  bird-life.  Early  morning  and  late  even- 
ing hours  are  the  best  for  collecting.  Each  specimen, 


24  PREPARATION    OF    SPECIMENS    FOR    STUDY. 

as  soon  as  it  is  secured,  should  be  carefully  cleansed 
and  smoothed,  have  the  mouth,  vent  and  shot-holes 
plugged  with  cotton,  and  be  thrust  head  first  into  a 
paper  cone,  to  keep  the  plumage  from  injury.  The 
ordinary  game-bag,  or  better,  a  fish-basket,  may  be 
used  to  carry  the  results  of  the  day's  shooting.  In  col- 
lecting eggs,  great  care  is  of  course  required  to  bring 
them  safe  home.  They  should  be  thickly  wrapped 
with  cotton,  and  deposited  in  a  tin  or  wooden  box. 

Before  skinning,  each  specimen  should  be  measured 
as  to  the  total  length  and  spread  of  wings,  as  these 
dimensions  cannot  be  accurately  taken  after  the  object 
is  prepared  for  the  cabinet.  The  "  length  "  is  the  dis- 
tance in  a  straight  line  from  the  tip  of  the  bill  to  the 
end  of  the  tail.  The  "expanse  of  wing"  is  the  dis- 
tance between  the  ends  of  the  longest  primaries  when 
the  wings  are  fully  spread  apart.  A  third  measure- 
ment may  also  be  preferably  made  before  the  specimen 
is  skinned  ;  that  is,  the  "length  of  wing,"  which  means 
the  distance  from  the  "bend  of  the  wing"  (from  the 
carpal  or  wrist  joint,  sometimes  improperly  called  the 
shoulder,  as  said  above)  to  the  end  of  the  longest  pri- 
mary. Other  measurements,  usually  taken  either  from 
the  fresh  or  the  dried  specimen,  are  those  of  the  tail, 
bill,  tarsus,  and  middle  toe,  with  its  claw.  The  tail  is 
to  be  measured  from  the  insertion  of  the  feathers  in  the 
coccyx  to  the  end  of  the  longest  feather.  Bills  and 
feet  cannot  usually  be  accurately  measured  without  the 
compasses.  The  length  of  the  bill  is  the  straight  line 
from  the  base  to  the  tip  of  the  oilmen.  The  length  of 
the  tarsus  is  the  distance  from  the  ankle-joint  to  the 
base  of  the  middle  toe.  Besides  measuring,  it  is  al- 
ways well  to  note  the  color  of  the  eyes,  bill,  feet,  any 


DIRECTIONS    FOR    SKINNING    BIRDS.  25 

naked  patches  of  skin,  &c.  —  in  fact,  the  colors  of  any 
soft  parts  liable  to  fade  or  change  in  any  way  in  drying. 
All  these  memoranda  should  be  entered  in  a  note-book, 
and  also  inscribed  on  the  label  of  the  specimen,  to- 
gether with  the  date  of  capture,  the  sex  (ascertained 
by  dissection,  as  noted  beyond),  the  locality  where 
procured,  the  collector's  name,  and  any  further  obser- 
vations he  may  have  made,  such  as  the  contents  of  the 
stomach  of  the  specimen,  the  abundance  or  scarcity 
of  the  species,  the  occupation  of  the  bird  at  the  mo- 
ment of  its  death,  &c. 

While  proficiency  in  the  higher  branches  of  taxi- 
dermy is  not  easily  acquired,  any  one  may  readily  learn 
to  make  a  fairly  good  bird-skin,  answering  all  scien- 
tific purposes.  An  incision  is  to  be  made  along  the 
middle  line  of  the  abdomen,  from  the  end  of  the  breast- 
bone to  the  vent,  and  the  skin  carefully  raised  on  each 
side  as  far  as  the  legs.  These  are  to  be  cut  away 
from  the  body  at  the  knee-joint,  inside  the  skin,  and 
afterward  skinned  down  as  far  as  the  tarsus,  scraping 
the  flesh  from  the  shin-bone,  but  leaving  that  bone  in 
place.  Next,  skin  around  the  coccyx  or  tail-bones,  sev- 
ering the  tail  from  the  body  by  cutting  off  the  coccyx 
inside  the  skin,  taking  care  to  leave  flesh  enough  for 
the  feathers  to  maintain  their  insertion.  The  bird  may 
now  be  hung,  head  downward,  by  a  hook  inserted  in 
the  exposed  stump  of  the  rump ;  and  with  a  little  care 
the  skin  may  gradually  be  stripped  off  as  far  as  the 
wings.  At  this  stage  the  wings  are  to  be  severed 
from  the  body,  inside  the  skin,  at  the  shoulder-joint. 
At  a  later  stage  the  wings  themselves  are  to  be  sepa- 
rately skinned,  like  the  legs,  down  as  far  as  the  wrist- 
joint,  leaving  the  bones  in,  but  removing  the  flesh  by 


26  PREPARATION    OF    SPECIMENS    FOR    STUDY. 

scraping.  As  soon  as  the  wings  have  been  severed, 
the  skin,  which  by  this  time  will  have  been  turned 
inside  out,  will  easily  slip  along  the  neck  as  far  as  the 
head.  To  skin  the  latter  is  the  most  difficult  part  of 
the  job,  and  must  be  carefully  done,  or  the  skin  will 
tear.  The  head  is  to  be  uncovered  nearly  as  far  as 
the  base  of  the  bill,  taking  especial  pains,  at  this  stage 
of  the  process,  not  to  stretch  the  skin  unduly.  The 
eyes  are  to  be  picked  out,  and  then  the  entire  base  of 
the  skull,  together  with  the  flesh  between  the  jaws,  and 
the  brain,  is  to  be  removed,  leaving  the  sides  and  top 
of  the  skull  attached  to  the  bill.  The  skin  above  the 
ears  and  eyes  is  closely  adherent  by  membrane  to  the 
bone,  and  must  be  detached  with  care  by  cutting.  In 
the  general  process  of  skinning,  after  the  first  incision, 
little  if  any  use  of  the  knife  or  scissors  is  required 
except  to  sever  the  legs,  tail,  and  wings,  to  work  about 
the  eyes  and  ears,  and  to  remove  the  base  of  the  skull. 
Nearly  all  the  necessary  cutting  may  be  better  done 
with  the  scissors  than  with  the  knife.  The  skins  of 
most  birds  slip  off  very  easily,  or  at  most  only  require 
to  be  detached  with  the  thumb-nail.  In  the  cases  of 
Woodpeckers,  some  Ducks,  and  a  few  other  birds,  the 
heads  of  which  are  too  large  in  proportion  to  the  cali- 
bre of  the  neck  to  be  skinned  as  above  directed,  this 
part  must  be  afterward  separately  skinned  by  an  incis- 
ion made  from  the  outside  along  the  middle  line  of  the 
skull. 

If  the  above  process  has  been  properly  conducted, 
the  bird's  skin  has  been  turned  inside  out.  The  pre- 
servative may  now  be  applied  thoroughly  to  every  part 
of  the  skin,  and  especially  to  the  head,  wings,  legs, 
and  tail,  where  bone  or  traces  of  flesh  remain.  The 


DIRECTIONS    FOR    STUFFING    BIRDS.  27 

best  preservative  is  arsenic;  none  of  the  many  prepa- 
rations recommended  are  more  effective,  and  none  are 
so  convenient.  As  much  arsenic  should  be  used  as  can 
be  made  to  adhere  to  the  skin.  The  skin  is  next  to  be 
turned  right  side  out,  taking  care  to  draw  the  head  care- 
fully into  place,  and  to  set  the  bones  of  the  wings  and 
legs  in  their  proper  position.  The  plumage  being 
nicely  smoothed,  and  the  whole  object  straightened 
out,  the  specimen  is  ready  to  receive  the  stuffing, 
which  is  to  be  introduced  through  the  original  incision. 
A  pellet  of  cotton  of  the  size  of  the  bird's  eye  should 
be  passed  into  the  skin,  and  deposited  in  each  socket; 
over  this  the  eyelids  are  to  be  nicely  adjusted.  In 
general,  no  wrapping  of  the  wing-bones  is  required, 
nor  is  it  necessary  to  tie  the  wing-bones  of  opposite 
sides  together  inside  the  skin,  as  often  directed,  though 
both  of  these  operations  may  be  desirable  in  the  cases 
of  some  large  birds.  A  little  cotton  should  be  wrapped 
around  the  leg-bones  of  large  birds ;  for  small  ones 
this  is  usually  unnecessary.  A  cylinder  of  cotton, 
rather  less  in  size  than  the  neck  of  the  bird,  should  be 
inserted  in  the  neck,  the  farther  end  of  the  cylinder 
resting  in  the  cavity  of  the  skull,  the  other  under  the 
skin  of  the  breast.  The  body-stuffing  of  any  bird  up 
to  the  size  of  a  crow  or  hawk  may  be  all  in  one  mass, 
rather  firmly  moulded  into  something  like  the  shape  of 
the  bird's  trunk,  but  rather  less  in  bulk.  Insinuating  this 
into  the  skin  until  it  fits  nicely,  bring  the  edges  of  the 
original  incision  together,  and  the  stuffing  of  the  speci- 
men is  completed.  It  only  remains  to  "  set  "  the  speci- 
men in  a  shapely  manner  by  folding  the  wings  neatly, 
adjusting  the  head  and  neck,  bringing  the  legs  to- 
gether, and  then  moulding  the  whole  object  by  manipu- 


28  PREPARATION    OF    SPECIMENS    FOR    STUDY. 

lation  into  the  desired  shape.  No  specific  directions 
can  be  given  here ;  this  part  of  the  process,  upon 
which  so  much  of  the  comeliness  of  the  specimen  de- 
pends, must  be  learned  by  practice.  The  usual  fault 
of  beginners  is  in  using  altogether  too  much  stuffing, 
and  in  making  the  skin  "bulge  out"  in  the  wrong 
places,  especially  between  the  shoulders  and  along  the 
neck.  The  specimen  is  usually  meant  to  lie  upon  its 
back,  with  the  head  drawn  near  the  body.  Care  should 
be  taken,  therefore,  that  the  neck-cylinder  of  cotton 
be  neither  too  long  nor  too  thick,  and  that  most  of  the 
elasticity  of  the  stuffing  shall  expend  itself  in  making 
the  breast  plump.  Particularly,  there  should  be  little 
if  any  stuffing  along  the  back  between  the  shoulders. 
The  general  run  of  small  birds  may  be  stuffed  nearly 
or  quite  to  the  natural  size  —  never  beyond  it ;  but 
large  birds  usually  are  best  left  flattened  to  a  consider- 
able degree.  The  specimen  being  arranged  to  suit,  it 
should  be  labelled  by  tying  the  label  to  the  crossed 
legs,  and  be  put  away  to  dry,  being  placed  either  in  a 
cylinder  of  stiff  paper  or  a  bed  of  cotton,  or  otherwise 
so  fixed  as  to  retain  the  shape  given.  After  thorough 
drying,  it  may  be  quite  closely  packed  for  transporta- 
tion, if  desired,  without  material  injury;  but  it  should 
not  be  subjected  to  much  pressure  while  still  moist. 

The  contents  of  the  crop  or  gizzard  may  be  exam- 
ined to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  bird's  food,  and  the 
result  be  recorded  either  in  the  note-book  or  on  the 
label  itself.  The  body  in  most  cases  should  also  be 
examined  to  make  sure  of  the  sex  of  the  specimen. 
The  testes  of  the  male  and  the  ovaries  of  the  female 
lie  in  the  same  position  in  the  small  of  the  back,  close 
to  the  kidneys,  and  may  easily  be  reached  by  cutting 


DISSECTING    AND    LABELLING    SPECIMENS.  29 

through  the  wall  of  the  abdomen  on  one  side,  and 
pushing  the  intestines  out  of  the  way.  The  testes  of 
the  male  are  a  pair  of  whitish  or  yellowish  bodies  lying 
close  together.  The  ovary  is  a  flattened  mass  of  small 
spheres.  In  the  breeding  season,  both  these  organs 
are  subject  to  such  enlargement  that  they  become  very 
conspicuous,  and  they  differ  so  much  in  appearance 
that  they  cannot  be  mistaken  ;  but  at  other  times  of 
the  year  they  can  only  be  recognized  upon  close  ex- 
amination, especially  in  the  cases  of  small  birds.  The 
organs  of  a  cock  sparrow,  for  example,  are  as  large  as 
peas  in  May,  though  no  bigger  than  a  pin's  head  when 
not  in  action.  The  ripe  ovary  of  a  female  bird  is  even 
more  conspicuous.  To  denote  the  male  sex,  the  sign 
for  Mars  ( <?  )  is  used  ;  that  for  Venus  (  9  )  being  em- 
ployed in  the  other  case. 

The  labelling  of  specimens  is  an  important  matter, 
which  should  never  be  neglected,  or  even  postponed. 
It  is  to  be  done  at  once  on  the  completion  of  the  oper- 
ation of  stuffing.  Besides  the  items  already  indicated, 
the  label  should  bear  a  number  corresponding  to  one 
in  the  note-book,  where  all  the  information  given  upon 
the  label  should  be  duplicated,  with  any  additional 
observations  which  the  collector  may  desire  to  record. 

Skins  prepared  in  the  manner  indicated  are  to  be 
preserved  in  the  drawers  of  the  cabinet  for  the  purposes 
of  study  :  they  answer  all  the  requirements  of  science. 
Should  it  be  desired  to  mount  them,  however,  they 
may  be  relaxed  at  any  time  by  the  application  of  moist- 
ure. It  is  not  always  possible  to  prevent  the  plumage 
from  being  soiled  by  the  blood,  grease,  or  other  fluids 
of  the  body ;  but  most  such  stains  can  be  effaced  by 
thorough  washing  with  clean  water  and  drying  with 


3O  PREPARATION    OF    SPECIMENS    FOR    STUDY. 

plaster-of-paris,  the  process  to  be  repeated  until  the 
spot  disappears. 

In  collecting  nests  and  eggs,  not  less  than  in  de- 
stroying birds  themselves,  humane  reluctance  to  inflict 
needless  suffering  should  restrain  the  ornithologist  from 
indiscriminate  and  unnecessary  interference  with  bird- 
life.  Unless  one  wishes  to  collect  largely  for  legiti- 
mate exchange,  no  more  nests  should  be  despoiled 
than  may  be  necessary  to  stock  one's  own  cabinet  for 
the  purposes  of  study.  The  commoner  sorts  of  eggs 
are  readily  secured  in  a  short  time,  and  the  birds  lay- 
ing these  kinds  should  not  afterward  be  molested. 
The  greatest  care  must  always  be  taken  to  identify  the 
parents  of  nests  and  eggs  secured ;  for  specimens  to 
which  any  doubt  attaches  are  comparatively  worthless 
for  scientific  purposes.  It  is  not  always  sufficient  to 
detect  a  presumed  parent  near  the  nest,  for  there  is 
much  liability  to  mistake  where  different  kinds  of  birds 
are  breeding  together,  particularly  if  they  be  of  nearly 
related  species,  or  of  species  whose  nests,  eggs,  and 
breeding  habits  are  similar.  A  bird  actually  seen  on 
the  nest,  or  fluttering  away  from  it,  affords  the  only 
sure  indication  of  parentage  ;  and  if  there  be  the  slight- 
est doubt  as  to  the  species,  the  parent  should  be  snared 
or  shot,  to  put  the  identification  beyond  question.  The 
search  for  birds'-nests  is  not  so  much  a  matter  of  luck 
or  accident  as  some  suppose  it  to  be.  Careful  and 
patient  observation  of  the  birds  themselves  during  the 
breeding  season  gives  the  best  clue  to  the  situation  of 
nests,  many  of  which  are  hidden  with  the  utmost  dis- 
play of  the  instinct  of  self-preservation.  Our  most  suc- 
cessful collectors  become  expert  through  great  patience 
and  perseverance  in  watching  birds  and  studying  their 


COLLECTION  OF  NESTS  AND  EGGS.        31 

habits.  Birds  of  one  or  another  kind  will  be  found 
nesting  in  every  locality,  and  in  almost  every  possible 
situation.  It  is,  therefore,  no  more  practicable  to  give 
precise  directions  for  finding  nests  than  it  is  to  say 
how  or  where  birds  themselves  are  to  be  sought.  This 
branch  of  wood-craft,  like  every  other,  must  be  learned 
from  the  best  teacher  —  experience. 

No  portion  of  the  collector's  note-book  can  be  filled 
with  memoranda  to  more  advantage  than  that  devoted 
to  the  record  of  nests  found  and  examined.  The  gen- 
eral nature  of  the  surroundings,  the  exact  situation  of 
the  nest,  the  materials  composing  it,  the  number  of 
eggs  it  contains,  the  actions  of  the  parents,  the  precise 
date,  the  condition  of  the  eggs  at  the  time,  —  all  these 
should  be  duly  entered,  as  items  which  fade  quickly 
from  the  memory,  and  which  cannot  be  subsequently 
attested  by  the  contents  of  the  cabinet.  Few  persons, 
if  any,  make  extensive  collections  of  nests.  Many 
birds  make  no  nests ;  others,  only  such  structures  as 
cannot  be  conveniently  preserved  ;  and  those  which 
are  eligible  for  preservation  in  the  cabinet  usually  re- 
quire special  precautions,  such  as  wrapping  or  sewing 
with  thread,  for  their  safe  keeping.  Nests  or  nesting- 
places  are,  therefore,  as  a  rule,  described  and  recorded 
in  the  note-book,  not  kept  for  study.  The  contrary  is 
the  case  with  eggs,  which  may  be  preserved  with  ease, 
affording  at  once  interesting  and  valuable  objects  of 
natural  history. 

Eggs,  as  a  rule,  should  be  kept  in  sets  —  a  "set" 
being  those  taken  from  any  one  nest ;  and  each  one 
of  a  set  should  bear  the  same  number,  referring  to  a 
corresponding  entry  in  the  note-book,  where  the  par- 
ticulars above  mentioned  are  recorded  in  full.  The 


32  PREPARATION    OF    SPECIMENS    FOR    STUDY. 

number  should  be  neatly  written  in  ink.  It  is  seldom 
advisable,  and  often  impossible,  to  make  an  inscrip- 
tion of  any  length  upon  the  shell,  and  the  number 
alone  usually  answers  every  purpose.  Eggs  are  best 
kept  loose  in  small  shallow  trays  of  pasteboard,  in  a 
drawer  of  the  cabinet;  each  tray  containing  also  a 
written  label  corresponding  as  far  as  practicable  to  the 
entry  in  the  register.  They  may  also  be  packed  in 
cotton  in  small  boxes,  as  cigar  boxes,  for  example. 
The  largest  and  best  public  collection  in  this  country 
—  that  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution  —  is  preserved  in 
the  former  manner;  Captain  Bendire's  collection,  the 
best  private  one  by  far,  is,  I  believe,  kept  in  cotton  in 
many  small  boxes. 

For  preservation,  eggs,  must  of  course  be  emptied 
of  their  contents.  This  is  accomplished  by  drilling  a 
single  hole  near  the  middle  of  the  egg,  with  the  steel 
instrument  to  be  procured  of  any  dealer  in  natural  his- 
tory material.  Drills  of  several  sizes  must  be  used  for 
the  different  kinds  of  eggs.  Having  carefully  drilled 
the  hole,  insert  a  blow-pipe,  and  force  the  contents  out 
by  blowing,  holding  the  egg  meanwhile  over  a  basin 
of  water.  No  particular  directions  need  be  given  ;  a 
few  trials  will  show  the  operator  what  delicacy  of 
manipulation  is  necessary  to  prevent  breakage.  Acci- 
dents are  more  liable  to  happen  from  blowing  too  hard, 
by  bursting  the  egg,  than  by  breaking  it  under  the 
fingers  in  drilling  or  during  subsequent  handling.  A 
perfectly  fresh  egg  is  easily  emptied  ;  and  nothing  fur- 
ther is  required  than  to  rinse  it  thoroughly,  by  taking 
water  into  the  mouth  and  spirting  it  through  the  blow- 
pipe. A  Robin's  egg,  for  example,  may  be  perfectly 
emptied  and  rinsed  through  a  hole  scarcely  admitting 


PREPARING    EGGS    FOR    THE    CABINET.  33 

the  head  of  a  common-sized  dressing-pin  ;  and  in  every 
case  the  hole  should  be  as  small  as  can  be  got  along 
with.  Incubated  eggs,  however,  present  difficulty  in 
proportion  to  the  size  of  the  contained  embryo.  The 
shell  grows  more  fragile  as  incubation  advances ;  the 
membrane  which  lines  the  shell  grows  thicker  and 
tougher.  The  hole  must,  therefore,  be  made  larger, 
and  be  drilled  with  greater  care  ;  the  embryo,  if  ad- 
vanced in  size,  must  be  cut  in  pieces  with  fine  narrow- 
bladed  scissors,  and  extracted  piecemeal  with  forceps 
or  a  hook ;  the  lining  membrane  is  to  be  extracted,  if 
possible,  by  the  same  means ;  and  particular  attention 
must  be  paid  to  thorough  rinsing.  Any  attempt  to 
force  out  an  embryo  by  strong  blowing  is  apt  to  burst 
the  egg.  With  due  care,  however,  a  perfectly  formed 
embryo  may  usually  be  removed  without  accident. 
The  shell  being  empty  and  clean,  it  should  be  placed 
with  the  hole  downward  on  blotting-paper,  to  drain ; 
and  when  perfectly  dry,  and  marked  with  a  number, 
it  is  ready  to  be  placed  in  the  cabinet.  The  only  after 
care  is  to  keep  the  specimens  from  the  light  and  from 
the  dust. 

I  repeat  the  caution,  that  the  young  collector  cannot 
be  too  careful  to  identify  and  authenticate  his  eggs ; 
to  keep  them  during  blowing  and  afterward  without 
mixing  them  up,  and  to  be  explicit  and  precise  in  his 
register-entries.  A  badly  made  collection  of  eggs  is 
worse  than  worthless  for  any  scientific  purpose ;  it  is 
only  fit  for  a  child's  amusement. 

The  whole  subject  of  collecting  birds  and  their  eggs, 
and  of  preparing  them  for  preservation  in  the  cabinet, 
is  fully  treated  in  Coues'  "  Field  Ornithology,"  to  which 
the  reader  is  referred  for  further  particulars. 
3 


34  THE    SUBJECT    OF    FAUNAL   AREAS. 


§  3.    THE  SUBJECT  OF  FAUNAL  AREAS. 

IN  his  well-known  article  in  the  American  Journal 
of  Science  and  Arts,  for  January,  1866,  Professor 
Baird  adopts  the  general  views  of  Dr.  P.  L.  Sclater, 
respecting  the  primary  division  of  the  globe  into  Fau- 
nal  Areas,  as  determined  by  the  geographical  distri- 
bution of  birds,  adding,  however,  a  "  West  Indian 
Region  "  to  those  recognized  by  the  English  natural- 
ist. The  greater  part  of  North  America  constitutes 
the  Nearctic  Region  of  these  authors,  and  thus  is  sub- 
divided by  Professor  Baird  into  three  provinces  —  the 
Eastern,  Middle,  and  Western.  The  first  of  these  ex- 
tends from  the  Atlantic  seaboard  westward  across  the 
Alleghanies  and  over  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi to  the  sterile  plains  beyond,  at  about  the  one 
hundredth  degree  of  west  longitude.  Whatever  fur- 
ther elaboration  and  modification  in  detail  this  scheme 
may  require,  so  far  as  our  country  is  concerned,  it  has 
stood  the  test  of  ulterior  examination,  and  may  be  con- 
sidered as  accepted  in  its  main  features.  Mr.  J.  A. 
Allen,  who  has  since  paid  great  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject of  zoo-geography  in  general,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  subdivisions  of  these  large  areas,  has  pre- 
sented the  results  of  a  study  of  the  Eastern  Province  in 
his  valuable  paper,  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Museum  of 
Comparative  Zoology  (No.  3  of  Vol.  ii,  pp.  387-404, 
1871),  where  he  divides  the  Province  into  the  follow- 
ing lesser  areas,  called  "Faunae  "  :  — 

I.  Floridian  Fauna.  Including  Florida  south 
of  Lake  George  on  the  interior,  and  of  Cape  Cana- 
veral on  the  coast ;  this  portion  of  the  State  differing 


THE    FAUNAE    OF    THE    EASTERN    PROVINCE.          35 

quite  sensibly  from  the  rest  in  its  general  faunal  and 
floral  characteristics. 

II.  Louisianian  Fauna.     Provisionally  considered 
as  limited  to  the  northward  by  the  isotheral  line  of 
77°   F.,    and   embracing   all   that   part  of  the  United 
States  south  of  such  line,  and  east  of  the  Great  Plains, 
excepting  the  Floridian  Fauna.     It  apparently  extends 
up  the  coast  as  far  as  Norfolk,  Virginia. 

III.  Carolinian    Fauna.      This    extends  from    the 
northern  boundary  of  the  Louisianian  Fauna  north- 
ward to  about  the  isotheral  line  of  7iQ  F.     "On  the 
Atlantic  coast  the  Fauna  includes  Long  Island  and  a 
small  portion  of  southeastern  New  York,  which  form 
its  northern  limit." 

This  Fauna  is  of  special  interest  for  us  in  the  pres- 
ent connection,  from  the  fact  that  its  extension  on  the 
eastern  side,  as  given  by  Mr.  Allen,  requires  to  be 
somewhat  enlarged,  in  order  to  include  a  small  por- 
tion of  New  England.  For  the  lower  valley  of  the 
Connecticut  River  has  a  Fauna,  so  far  at  least  as  birds 
are  concerned,  which  is  substantially  the  same  as  that 
of  Long  Island  and  the  southeastern  corner  of  New 
York.  Among  the  birds  given  by  Mr.  Allen  as  "spe- 
cies limited  in  their  northward  range  by  the  Caro- 
linian Fauna "  are  the  following,  all  of  which  are 
now  known  to  occur  in  southern  New  England  :  — 
Cardinalis  virginiana,  Euspiza  americana^  Guiraca 
coerulea,  Helmintherus  vermi'vorus^  Icteria  vircns, 
Wihonia  mitrata,  Dcndrceca  ccerulea^  Pyranga  czstiva, 
Mimus  -polyglottus,  Thryothorus  ludovicianus,  Poliop- 
tila  ccerulea,  Lopkophanes  bicolor^  Corvus  ossifragus, 
Centurus  carolinus. 

IV.  Alleghanian  Fauna.     With  the  Carolinian  for 


36  THE    SUBJECT    OF    FAUNAL    AREAS. 

its  southern  boundary,  the  northern  boundary  of  this 
Fauna  "  appears  to  be  nearly  coincident  with  the 
isotheral  line  of  65°  F.  It  is,  however,  an  extreme- 
ly irregular  line,  with  abrupt  and  deep  sinuosities. 
Beginning  on  the  coast  to  the  eastward  of  Penobscot 
Bay,  it  sweeps  first  somewhat  to  the  northeast,  nearly 
or  quite  reaching  Bangor ;  thence  passing  westward 
and  southward,  it  follows  the  northern  boundary  of 
the  lowlands  through  southern  Maine  and  southern 
New  Hampshire.  In  the  Connecticut  valley  it  rises 
farther  to  the  northward,  and  in  its  southern  descent 
skirts  the  eastern  base  of  the  Green  Mountains,  pass- 
ing to  the  southward  and  westward  of  these  highlands 
in  Connecticut,  and  thence  abruptly  to  the  northward. 
Skirting  the  eastern  border  of  the  Champlain  valley, 
it  continues  still  northward  to  the  valley  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  as  far  as  Quebec.  •  •  •  The  Alleghanian 
Fauna  hence  includes  all  of  southern  New  England, 
[except  the  small  piece  occupied  by  the  Carolinian, 
and]  except  the  higher  parts  of  the  Green  Mountain 
ranges,  including  even  the  southern  third  of  Maine 
and  a  considerable  part  of  New  Hampshire  and  Ver- 
mont." 

V.  Canadian  Fauna.     All   of  New  England,   not 
included  in  the  Carolinian   and  Alleghanian  Faunae, 
belongs  to  the  Canadian,  the  northern  limit  of  which 
coincides  very  nearly  with  the  isotheral  line  of  57°  F. 

VI.  Hudsonian  Fauna  ;  and  VII.  American  Arctic 
Fauna.     Lie  successively  northward  of  those  already 
given.     Their  exact  limits,  however,   need  not  here 
concern  us. 

It  appears  from  the  foregoing  that  New  England  in- 
cludes   portions  of  three  of  the  Faunae   marked  out 


THE    THREE    NEW    ENGLAND    FAUNAE.  37 

by  Mr.  Allen.  The  recognition  of  the  "Carolinian" 
or  lowermost  of  these,  we  owe  to  this  author,  who 
however  left  to  be  afterward  determined  its  northward 
extension  into  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut.  The 
"  Alleghanian  "  Fauna  was  noted  by  Professor  Agas- 
siz  in  1853.  The  "Canadian"  was  probably  first  so 
called  by  Professor  A.  E.  Verrill  (Proceedings  of  the 
Essex  Institute,  iii,  1863,  pp.  136-139). 

In  the  article  just  mentioned,  Professor  Verrill 
marks  the  boundary  between  the  Canadian  and  Alle- 
ghanian Faunag  in  the  following  manner  : 

"To  me  it  seems  best  to  take,  as  a  guide  in  deter- 
mining the  northern  limits  of  the  Alleghanian  Fauna, 
the  most  southern  localities  in  which  those  birds  pecu- 
liar to  the  Canadian  Fauna  commonly  breed.  The 
line  thus  established  seems  to  separate  the  two  Faunae 
more  distinctly  than  any  other.  The  birds  which 
have  been  most  useful  in  this  investigation,  their  hab- 
its being  best  known,  are  the  Blue  Snow  Bird,  Pine 
Finch,  Canada  Jay,  Crossbills,  Black-poll  Warbler,  and 
Spruce  Partridge.  Wherever  these  breed  abundantly 
in  any  region,  it  may  safely  be  considered  as  belonging 
to  the  Canadian  Fauna.  According  to  this  arrange- 
ment the  Adirondack  region  of  New  York,  the  northern 
parts  of  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  including  most 
of  the  higher  parts  of  the  Green  Mountains  and  all 
of  the  White  Mountains,  and  even  the  summits  of  the 
higher  Alleghanies,  will  be  included  in  the  Canadian 
Fauna.  But  the  Alleghanian  Fauna  will  extend  north- 
ward into  some  parts  of  Canada  West,  about  Lake 
Ontario,  and  along  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
perhaps  as  far  as  Montreal.  In  Maine  the  Canadian 
Fauna  will  embrace  most  of  the  northern  portion  of 


38  THE    SUBJECT    OF    FAUNAL    AREAS. 

the  State,  extending  southward  as  far  as  the  Umbagog 
Lakes  in  the  western  part.  Concerning  central  and 
northeastern  Maine  I  cannot  speak  with  certainty,  but 
the  coast  region,  from  Mount  Desert  to  Eastport,  to- 
gether with  the  islands  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  the 
southeastern  coast  of  New  Brunswick,  belong  to  the 
Canadian  Fauna.  The  central  and  southern  parts  of 
Nova  Scotia,  however,  are  somewhat  more  southern 
in  character.  ...  I  have  found  that  forests  of  spruce 
and  white  birch,  so  characteristic  of  the  northern  parts 
of  New  England,  generally  commence  with  the  south- 
ern limits  of  the  Canadian  Fauna,  yet  most  of  the 
birds  seem  in  no  way  dependent  upon  such  forests, 
and  many  do  not  even  frequent  them." 

The  meeting-place  of  these  two  Faunae  in  New 
Hampshire  and  Maine  has  been  noted  by  Messrs. 
Maynard  and  Brewster  in  a  paper  by  the  former  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History 
(xiv,  Oct.,  1871).  Writing  of  the  Birds  of  Coos  County, 
N.  H.,  and  Oxford  County,  Me.,  Mr.  Maynard  gives 
these  localities  as  places  where  the  Faunae  come  to- 
gether, and  draws  the  dividing  line  in  the  following 
manner  :  "  Starting  on  the  northeast  coast  of  Maine, 
near  Mount  Desert,  the  dividing  line  of  these  faunae  pro- 
ceeds in  a  southwesterly  direction  along  the  southern 
margin  of  the  mountain-range  which  stretches  across 
the  State  to  the  White  Mountains.  Here  it  declines 
to  the  south,  reaching  quite  to  Rye  Beach  ;  then  once 
more  proceeds  northwest  along  the  western  border  of 
the  mountain-range  into  Vermont,  where  it  is  not  my 
present  purpose  to  trace  it.  So  abruptly  is  the  line 
defined  in  many  places  by  the  range  of  mountains, 
that  some  birds  which  occur  in  abundance  on  one  side 


THE    CAROLINIAN    FAUNA    IN   NEW   ENGLAND.       39 

are  found  only  as  stragglers,  or  not  at  all,  on  the 
other." 

The  northern  border  of  the  Carolinian  Fauna,  which 
division  Allen,  Bicknell,  Merriam,  Purdie  and  others 
have  recognized,  is  at  present  open  to  some  question. 
The  probability  is,  however,  that  it  includes  a  portion 
of  southeastern  New  York,  the  whole  of  Long  Island, 
and  a  considerable  part  of  Connecticut.  So  far  as 
New  England  is  concerned,  the  Carolinian  fauna  may 
be  said,  in  a  word,  to  include  the  valley  of  the  lower 
Connecticut  River.  Non-recognition  of  this  fact  has 
led  some  writers,  notably  Dr.  Brewer,  to  exclude  from 
the  New  England  list  several  species  which  should 
unquestionably  be  included.  It  may  be  assumed  with 
entire  safety,  as  always  insisted  by  Dr.  Coues,  that 
any  bird  known  to  be  found  on  New  York,  Long,  or 
Staten  Island,  is  certainly  also  a  bird  of  New  England, 
being  sure  to  occur  in  that  wedge  of  the  Carolinian 
Fauna  which,  as  we  have  just  seen,  extends  some  dis- 
tance up  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut.  New  England 
writers  have  not  been  always  sufficiently  impressed 
with  this  conviction.  Nearly  if  not  quite  all  the  spe- 
cies which  were  included  in  Dr.  Coues'  list  of  1868, 
on  the  strength  of  this  circumstance,  have  since  been 
actually  detected  in  the  region  in  mention,  confirm- 
ing the  accuracy  of  such  determination  in  the  most 
satisfactory  manner. 

It  will  be  obvious,  from  what  has  been  said  of  the 
three  Fauna?  represented  within  the  boundaries  of  New 
England,  that  the  manner  and  character  of  the  pres- 
ence of  any  species  in  New  England  can  only  be  estab- 
lished with  due  reference  to  the  three  diverse  areas. 
A  bird  may  be  only  a  summer  visitor  in  one  of  these 


40  THE    SUBJECT    OF    FAUNAL    AREAS. 

areas,  or  a  winter  resident  in  another,  or  a  migrant 
only  in  a  third ;  or  it  may  occupy  more  than  one  of 
these  natural  divisions  in  a  different  manner  at  differ- 
ent seasons  of  the  year.  All  matters  relating  to  the 
presence  of  birds  in  New  England  at  large,  as  well 
as  to  the  details  of  their  local  distribution  within  such 
limits  at  any  given  period  of  the  year,  must  rest  upon 
consideration  of  the  different  Faunal  areas  involved  in 
the  solution  of  the  problem.  It  rarely  suffices  to  say 
of  a  species,  simply,  that  it  "breeds  in  New  England," 
or  that  it  is  "  migratory  in  New  England  ;  "  much  more 
explicit  and  precise  statement  being  required  in  most 
cases.  The  zoologically  varied  character  of  New  Eng- 
land is  still  further  enhanced  by  the  fact,  that  it  pre- 
sents an  extensive  sea-coast  line,,  and  therefore  in- 
cludes a  number  of  marine  birds  which  are  only  found 
inland  by  accident. 

In  the  body  of  the  present  work  the  author  has  paid 
special  attention  to  the  local  distribution  of  species,  and 
has  endeavored  to  work  out  the  character  and  man- 
ner of  the  presence  of  each  New  England  bird  in  more 
precise  and  satisfactory  manner  than  has  before  been 
attempted.  He  has  undertaken  not  only  to  indicate 
whether  the  bird  be  a  permanent  resident,  a  summer 
or  winter  visitant,  a  migrant  or  a  straggler,  in  New 
England  at  large,  but  also  to  state  in  what  portions  of 
the  country  it  takes  one  or  another  of  these  parts,  in 
filling  its  role  as  an  inhabitant  of  the  six  Eastern  States, 
or  of  any  of  them  ;  the  natural  faunal  areas  above  in- 
dicated being  kept  prominently  in  view.  It  is  consid- 
ered a  great  gain  in  precision  to  refer  expressly  to  the 
Canadian,  Alleghanian,  and  Carolinian  Faunae,  instead 
of  using  the  terms  so  loosely  employed  by  most  writers. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF    THE    SUBJECT.  4! 


§  4.    ON  THE  LITERATURE  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 
ORNITHOLOGY. 

UNDER  this  head  it  is  proposed  to  present  a  sum- 
mary notice  of  previous  writings  on  New  England 
Ornithology.  This  literature  dates  back  at  least  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  notices  of  New  England 
birds  being  contained  in  some  of  the  very  earliest 
historical,  political,  and  other  publications  relating  to 
America.  All  such  writings,  however,  may  of  course 
be  passed  over  as  obsolete,  having  at  most  a  present 
interest  only  for  the  antiquarian  and  the  bibliographer, 
excepting,  perhaps,  in  the  single  case  of  the  Great 
Auk,  whose  former  existence  on  the  shores  of  New 
England  they  attest.  There  are  likewise  a  number 
of  treatises  on  the  Ornithology  of  North  America  at 
large,  which  relate  in  due  part  to  the  birds  of  New 
England.  Such  are  the  standard  works  of  Vieillot, 
Wilson,  Bonaparte,  Nuttall,  and  Audubon,  in  the  first 
half  of  the  present  century,  and  the  later  ones  of 
Baird,  of  Coues,  and  of  Baird,  Brewer,  and  Ridg- 
way.  Aside  from  such  works  of  general  scope,  which 
it  is  not  proposed  to  include  in  the  following  list, 
there  are  very  many  treatises  devoted  exclusively  to 
New  England  Ornithology.  Nearly  all  of  these,  as 
will  be  seen,  are  extremely  modern  ;  they  give  gratify- 
ing evidence  of  the  diligence  and  success  with  which 
numberless  New  England  writers  have  of  late  inves- 
tigated the  birds  of  their  country.  The  list  is  derived, 
with  permission,  from  Dr.  Coues'  Bibliographical  Ap- 
pendix to  the  "  Birds  of  the  Colorado  Valley,"  and  is 
believed  to  be  practically  complete.  Most  of  the  pub- 


42  BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF    THE    SUBJECT. 

lications  cited  have  been  examined  in  the  preparation 
of  the  present  volume,  in  order  to  set  forth  fully  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge  of  the  subject. 


Chronological  List  of  Publications  relating  to  the  Birds  of  New 
England;  with  Annotations. 

1792.  BELKNAP,  JEREMY.  The  History  of  New  Hampshire.  3  vols. 
8vo.  Boston,  1792.  (Dover,  1812.  Boston,  1813.) 

Vol.  iii  contains  an  annotated  list  of  123  species  of  New  Hampshire  Birds, 
at  pp.  165-174  of  the  orig.  ed. 

1794.  WILLIAMS,  SAMUEL.  The  Natural  and  Civil  History  of  Ver- 
mont. Walpole,  1794.  (2d  ed.  2  vols.  8vo.  Burling- 
ton, 1809.) 

•  Contains  notices  of  Birds,  at  pp.  134-146  of  vol.  i  of  the  2d  ed. 

1815.    Description    of   Duke's   County   [Massachusetts]. 

In  :  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  2d  ser.,  iii,  pp.  38-94.    Boston,  1815. 

List  of  Birds  of  Martha's  Vineyard,  p.  54. 

1832.  WILLIAMSON,  WILLIAM  D.     The  History  of  the   State   of 

Maine  [etc.].     2  vols.     8vo.     Hallowell,  1832. 

Essay  on  the  Birds,  at  pp.  140-150  of  vol.  i. 

1833.  EMMONS,  EBENEZER.    A  Catalogue  of  the  Animals  and  Plants 

of  Massachusetts.  II.  Birds.  In  :  Hitchcock's  Rep.  Geol. 
Min.  Bot.  and  Zob'l.  Mass.  Amherst,  1833.  PP-  545-551- 

The  first  attempt  at  a  scientific  list  of  the  Birds  of  this  State.  It  is  very 
incomplete,  containing  only  160  species,  but  reliable  as  far  as  it  goes,  con- 
taining no  species  not  since  confirmed  as  inhabiting  Massachusetts- 

1833  ?  NUTTALL,  THOMAS.  Remarks  and  Inquiries  concerning  the 
Birds  of  Massachusetts.  In  :  Mem.  Amer.  Acad.  Arts  and 
Sci.,  new  ser.,  i,  1833?  (probably  pub.  1831),  pp.  91-106. 

This  article  treats  of  44  species,  including  2  new  ones. 

1834.  EMMONS,  EBENEZER.     Observations  on  the  Time  of  the  Ap- 

pearance of  the  Spring  Birds  in  Williamstown,  (Mass.)  in 
the  Years  1831,  1832,  &  1833.  I*1  :  Silliman's  Amer.  Journ. 
Sci.,  xxvi,  1834,  p.  208. 

Observations  on  23  species. 

1837.  BREWER,  THOMAS  MAYO.  Some  Additions  to  the  Catalogue 
of  the  Birds  of  Massachusetts  in  Prof.  Hitchcock's  Report, 
&c.  In  :  Journ.  Boston  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  i,  pt.  iv,  1837,  pp. 
435-439- 

Adds  45  species  to  EmmonS'  list. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF    THE    SUBJECT,  43 

1839.  PEABODY,  WILLIAM  B.  O.     A  Report  on  the  Ornithology  of 

Massachusetts.  In  :  Rep.  Fishes,  Reptiles,  and  Birds  of 
Mass.  8vo.  Boston,  1839.  PP-  255~4°4- 

Biographical  notices,  more  or  less  extended,  of  285  species  known  or  be- 
lieved to  occur  in  Massachusetts. 

1840.  PEABODY,  WILLIAM  B.  O.     A  Report  on  the  Birds  of  Massa- 

chusetts made  to  the  Legislature  in  the  Session  of  1838-9. 
In  :  Journ.  Bost.  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  iii,  1840,  pp.  65-266. 

Same  as  that  in  the  State  Report  of  1839.  4-  v' 

1842.  ABBOTT,  S.  L.   [Remarks  on  some  Birds  of  Connecticut.]  In: 

Proc.  Bost.  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  i,  1842,  p.  56. 

1843.  LINSLEY,  J.  H.     A  Catalogue  of  the  Birds  of  Connecticut, 

arranged  according  to  their  natural  families.  In  :  Amer. 
Journ.  Sci.  and  Arts,  xliv,  No.  2,  April,  1843,  PP-  249~274- 
See  ibid.,  xlvi,  1844,  pp.  50,  51. 

This  important  list  includes  302  species,  being  domesticated  birds,  and  others 
believed  to  occur  in  the  State,  as  well  as  native  species  known  to  do  so.  Mer- 
riam's  late  analysis  of  the  list  reduces  the  number  to  239,  thus  eliminating  63 
species  admitted  by  Linsley  upon  inaccurate  or  insufficient  grounds.  See  1877. 

1842.  THOMPSON,  ZADOCK.  History  of  Vermont,  Natural,  Civil, 
and  Statistical  [etc.].  I  vol.  8vo.  Burlington,  1842.  (2d 
ed.  i  vol.  8vo.  Burlington,  1853.) 

Chap.  Ill,  pp.  56-112,  of  either  edition,  is  on  the  Birds  of  Vermont.  The 
ed.  of  1853  has  additional  bird-matter  at  pp.  20-28  of  the  Appendix. 

1846.  HOLDER,  J.  B.  Catalogue  of  Birds  noticed  in  the  vicinity  of 
Lynn  [Mass.],  during  the  years  of  i844-'5~'6.  In:  Publi- 
cations of  the  Lynn  Nat.  Hist.  Soc.,  No.  i,  Dec.,  1846,  pp. 
1-8. 

A  nominal  list  of  185  species. 

1856.  PUTNAM,  FREDERICK  W.  Catalogue  of  the  Birds  of  Essex 
County,  Massachusetts.  In:  Proc.  Essex  Inst,  i,  1856,  pp. 
201-231. 

Annotated  list  of  235  species,  plus  10  stragglers,  with  an  appendix  giving 
48  Massachusetts  species  not  observed  in  Essex  County. 

1860.  FOWLER,  S.  P.  Changes  produced  by  Civilization  in  the 
Habits  of  our  [Massachusetts]  common  Birds.  In  :  Proc. 
Essex  Inst.,  iii,  1860,  pp.  31-36. 

1860-63.  ALLEN,  JOEL  ASAPH.  Birds  of  New  England.  In  :  New 
England  Farmer  (weekly  paper),  Aug.  n,  25,  Sept.  22,  Oct. 
6,  20,  Nov.  3,  17,  Dec.  i,  22,  1860 ;  Jan.  5,  26,  Mar,  2,  May 
2,  May  18,  June  15,  July  20,  Sept.  21,  Oct.  26,  Nov.  23, 
1861 ;  Apr.  26,  July  26,  Aug.  16,  Sept.  13,  Oct.  18,  25,  Nov. 


44  BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF    THE    SUBJECT. 

8,  Dec.  6,  1862.  Also  published  in  monthly  issues  of  the 
same  paper  from  Sept.,  1860,  to  Jan.,  1863. 

Twenty-five  articles,  giving  popular  accounts  of  New  England  Birds  in 
order  from  A  ccipitres  to  the  middle  of  the  Fringillidte. 

1861.  HOLMES,  E.  Zoology  of  Maine.  Birds.  In :  Sixth  Ann. 
Rep.  Sec'y  Maine  Board  of  Agric.,  1861,  pp.  113-122. 

Nominal  list  of  193  species. 

1861.  WOOD,    WILLIAM.      Birds   of   Connecticut.      In:    Hartford 

Times,  weekly  ed.,  Mar.  16,  23,  30,  Apr.  13,  20,  May  4,  n, 
1 8,  25,  June  i,  8,  15,  22,  29,  July  6,  20,  27,  Aug.  10,  17,  24, 
1861. 

This  series  of  articles  treats  only  of  the  Accipitres.     Some  of  the  pieces 
also  appeared  in  the  daily  ed.  of  the  same  paper. 

1862.  [HITCHCOCK,  C.  H.]     Catalogue  of  the  Birds  of  Maine.     In: 

Proc.  Portland  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  i,  pt.  i,  1862,  pp.  66-71. 

Nominal  list  of  about  230  species. 

1862.  BOARDMAN,  GEORGE  A.  Catalogue  of  the  Birds  found  in  the 
vicinity  of  Calais,  Maine,  and  about  the  Islands  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  In:  Proc.  Boston  Soc. 
Nat.  Hist,  ix,  1862,  pp.  122-132. 

Annotated  list  of  227  species,  with  4  others  added  by  the  editor  of  the  paper, 
A.  E.  Verriil. 

1862.  HOLMES,    E.      Birds    of    Maine  —  (Addenda.)     In:  Second 

Ann.  Rep.  Nat.  Hist,  and  Geol.  of  Maine,  1862,  p.  118. 

Adds  13  species  to  his  list  of  1861,  q.  v. 

-862.  VERRILL,  A.  E.  Catalogue  of  the  Birds  found  at  Norway, 
Oxford  Co.,  Maine.  In:  Proc.  Essex  Inst.,  iii,  1862,  pp. 
136-160. 

Annotated  list  of  159  species,  followed  by  a  similar  list  of  107  Maine  Birds 
not  observed  at  Norway. 

1863.  SAMUELS,  EDWARD  A.      Mammalogy  and  Ornithology  of 

New  England,  with  reference  to  Agricultural  Economy. 
In:  Rep.  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Agric.,  1863,  pp.  265-286. 

A  general  sketch  of  the  subject. 

1863.  VERRILL,  A.  E.     Additions  to   the  Catalogue  of  the  Birds 

found  in  the  vicinity  of  Calais,  Me.,  and  about  the  Bay  of 
Fundy.  In:  Proc.  Boston  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  ix,  1863,  pp. 
233,  234- 

Twelve  species  added  to  Boardman's  list  of  1862,  q.  v. 

1864.  ALLEN,  JOEL  ASAPH.  Catalogue  of  the  Birds  found  at  Spring- 

field, Mass.,  with  Notes  on  their  Migrations,  Habits,  &c.  ; 
together  with  a  list  of  those  Birds  found  in  the  State  not 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF    THE    SUBJECT.  45 

yet  observed  at  Springfield.     In :    Proc.   Essex  Inst,  iv, 

1864,  pp.  48-98. 

Giving  195  species  at  Springfield  ;  296  in  Massachusetts. 

1864.  SAMUELS,   EDWARD  A.      Ornithology  of    Massachusetts  — 

List  of  Species.  In :  Eleventh  Ann.  Rep.  Sec'y  Mass. 
Board  of  Agric.  for  1863,  1864,  Appendix,  pp.  xviii-xxix. 
Also  separate,  8vo,  Boston,  1864,  pp.  15. 

Annotated  list  of  267  species. 

1865.  HAMLIN,  C.  E.     Catalogue  of  Birds  found  in  the  Vicinity  of 

Waterville,  Kennebec  County  [Maine].  In  :  Tenth  Ann. 
Rep.  Sec'y  Maine  Board  of  Agric.  1865,  pp.  168-173. 

Nominal  list  of  135  species. 

1865.  SAMUELS,  EDWARD  A.  Oology  of  some  of  the  Land  Birds 
of  New  England,  as  a  means  of  identifying  injurious  or 
beneficial  species.  In:  Rep.  U.  S.  Agric.  Dept.  for  1864, 

1865,  pp.  386-430. 

Treating  of  a  large  number  of  species. 

1867.  ALLEN,  JOEL  ASAPH.  Winter  Notes  of  an  Ornithologist. 
In:  Amer.  Nat,  i,  1867,  pp.  38-48. 

Relating  to  Birds  of  Massachusetts. 

1867.  ALLEN,  JOEL  ASAPH.  Ornithological  Calendars.  In :  Amer. 
Nat,  i,  1867,  pp.  54,  109,  1 60. 

Appearances  of  migratory  Birds  in    Massachusetts  in   March,   April,  and 
May. 

1867.  ALLEN,  JOEL  ASAPH.  The  Birds  of  Spring.  In  :  Am.  Nat, 
i,  1867,  pp.  141-144. 

Relating  to  New  England. 

1 86^.  SAMUELS,  EDWARD  A.  Ornithology  and  Oology  of  New 
England;  [etc.],  i  vol.  8vo.  Boston,  1867. 

There  are  several  editions  of  this  popular  treatise :  410,  Boston,  1868  ;   8vo, 
Boston,  1870;  8vo,  Boston,  1875. 

1867.  WYMAN,  JEFFRIES.    An   Account  of   some  Kjcekkenmced- 

dings,  or  Shell-heaps,  in  Maine  and  Massachusetts.  In  : 
Amer.  Nat,  i,  1867,  pp.  561-584. 

Remains  of  various  birds  noted,  especially  of  A  lea  impennis. 

1868.  COUES,  ELLIOTT.     Catalogue  of  the  Birds  of  North  America 

contained  in  the  Museum  of  the  Essex  Institute ;  with 
which  is  incorporated  A  List  of  the  Birds  of  New  Eng- 
land. With  Brief  Critical  and  Field  Notes.  In  :  Proc. 
(Comm.)  Essex  Inst.,  v,  1868,  pp.  249-314.  (Also  sepa- 


46  BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF    THE    SUBJECT. 

rately  published,  re-titled  A  List  of  the  Birds  of  New  Eng- 
land.    8vo.     Salem,  1868.     pp.  71. 

This  article,  aside  from  the  Museum  Catalogue,  gives  an  annotated  synop- 
sis of  the  Birds  of  New  England,  335  in  number,  with  various  others  indicated 
as  of  probable  occurrence. 

1869.  BOARDMAN,  GEORGE  A.  Breeding  of  Rare  Birds  [at  Mill- 
town,  Me.].  In:  Am.  Nat.,  iii,  1869,  p.  222. 

1869.  BOARDMAN,  GEORGE  A.  The  Black  Vulture  in  Maine.  In: 
Amer.  Nat.,  iii,  1869,  p.  498. 

Also,  occurrence  there  of  Gallinula  martinica. 

1869.  BREWER,  THOMAS  MAYO.     Sea-side  Ornithology.  In  :  Amer. 

Nat,  iii,  1869,  pp.  225-235. 

Relating  to  Birds  of  the  New  England  coast. 

1869-70.  ALLEN,  JOEL  ASAPH.  Notes  on  some  of  the  Rare  Birds 
of  Massachusetts.  In:  Amer.  Nat,  iii,  1869,  pp.  505-519; 
iii,  1870,  pp.  568-585,  631-648. 

Supplementary  to  the  author's  paper  of  1864,  raising  the  number  of  Massa- 
chusetts birds  to  315. 

1870.  MAYNARD,  C.  J.     Catalogue  of  the  Birds  of  Eastern  Massa- 

chusetts, with  notes  relative  to  their  migration,  habits,  etc., 
etc.,  etc.     In  :  The  Naturalist's  Guide.  Part  II.  pp.  81-170. 

Annotated  list  of  299  species. 

1871-72.  GOODHUE,  DANIEL.  Catalogue  of,  and  Observations  on 
the  Birds  of  Vermont.  In  :  Arch.  Sci.  and  Trans.  Or- 
leans Co.  Soc.  Nat.  Hist,  i,  No.  iii,  Apr.,  1871,  pp.  102-105  ; 
No.  v,  Oct.,  1872,  pp.  171-174. 

This  rare  tract  was  not  seen  by  Dr.  Coues  in  preparing  his  Bibliography, 
and  has  never  before  been  correctly  cited  in  full.  The  article  is  a  mere  frag- 
ment, never  completed. 

1871.  BOARDMAN,  GEORGE  A.     Ornithological  Notes  from  Maine. 

In  :  Am.  Nat,  v,  1871,  p.  662. 

Notes  on  four  species. 

1871.  PALMER,  C.     Ornithological  Notes.     In  :  Am.  Nat,  v,  1871, 

p.  120. 

Four  species,  in  Maine. 

1872.  BREWSTER,  WILLIAM.     Birds  New  to  Massachusetts  Fauna. 

In:  Amer.  Nat,  vi,  1872,  pp.  306,  307. 

Six  species  given,  among  them   Tringa  bairdi. 

1872.  MAYNARD,  C.  J.  A  Catalogue  of  the  Birds  of  Coos  Co., 
N.  H.,  and  Oxford  Co.,  Me.,  with  annotations  relative  to 
the  breeding  habits,  migrations,  etc.  .  .  .  With  Notes  by 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF    THE    SUBJECT.  47 

Wm.  Brewster.     In  :  Proc.  Bost  Soc.  Nat.  Hist,  for  Oct., 
1871,  pub.  1872,  pp.  356-385. 

Fully  annotated  list  of  164  species. 

1873.  HERRICK,  HARROLD.  A  partial  Catalogue  of  the  Birds  of 
Grand  Menan,  N.  B.  In:  Bull.  Essex  Inst,  v,  No.  2, 
1873,  PP-  28-41. 

Annotated  list  of  194  species. 

1873.  WHITMAN,  S.  P.  Pigeon  Cove  and  Vicinity.  By  H.  C.  Leon- 
ard, i  vol.  i6mo.  Boston,  1873. 

Contains,  at  pp.  157-175,  notes  on  Birds  of  Cape  Ann,  by  S.  P.  Whitman. 

1873.  PURDIE,  H.  A.  Notes  on  some  of  the  Rarer  Birds  of  New 
England.  In  :  Amer.  Nat.,  vii,  1873,  PP-  692,  693. 

Mention  of  about  25  species.  Attention  is  called  to  the  extension  of  the 
Carolinian  Fauna  into  New  England. 

1875.  BREWER,  THOMAS  MAYO.  Catalogue  of  the  Birds  of  New 
England,  with  brief  notes  indicating  the  manner  and  char- 
acter of  their  presence  ;  with  a  list  of  species  included  in 
previous,  catalogues  believed  to  have  been  wrongly  classed 
as  Birds  of  New  England.  In  :  Proc.  Boston  Soc.  Nat. 
Hist,  xvii,  1875,  PP-  436-454. 

This  is  one  of  the  two  leading  lists  of  New  England  Birds,  and  is  very  re- 
liable, as  far  as  it  goes.  It  gives  336  species,  and  rejects  29  which  are  sup- 
posed to  have  no  claim  to  be  included  —  this  being  almost  exactly  the  number 
which  the  author,  in  two  subsequent  lists,  found  it  necessary  to  restore. 

1875.  BROWN,  NATHAN  C.  Ornithological  Notes  from  Portland, 
Maine.  In  :  Rod  and  Gun,  vi,  May  8,  1875,  p.  81. 

1875.  CHICKERING,  J.  J.  Notice  of  White  Mountain  Birds  and  In- 
sects. In  :  Field  and  Forest,  i,  No.  6,  Nov.,  1875,  p.  48. 

1875.  FLAGG,  WILSON.  Birds  and  Seasons  of  New  England, 
i  vol.  8vo.  Boston,  1875. 

A  beautiful  and  interesting  work. 

1875.  STEARNS,  W.  A.     Birds  Breeding  on  Penikese  Island  [Mas- 

sachusetts].    In:  Amer.  Nat.,  ix,  1875,  pp.  5J4>  5r5- 

1876.  ALLEN,  JOEL  ASAPH.     Decrease  of  Birds  in  Massachusetts. 

In:  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  i,  No.  3,  Sept.,  1876,  pp.  53-60. 
1876.   BREWER,  THOMAS    MAYO.      Birds  of  New  England.     In: 
Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  i,  No.  4,  Nov.,  1876,  pp.  89-93. 

Controversial,  in  defence  of  his  list  of  1875. 

1876.  BREWSTER,  WILLIAM.  On  the  occurrence  of  certain  Birds 
in  the  New  England  States.  In :  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  i,  No. 
i,  Apr.,  1876,  pp.  17-20. 

Five  species. 


48  BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF    THE    SUBJECT. 

1876.  GLADWIN,  CHARLES  O.  Birds  of  Southern  Connecticut. 
In  :  Forest  and  Stream,  vi,  Mar.  30,  1876,  p.  1 16. 

1876.  GRAY,  ARTHUR  F.  Resident  Birds  of  Danvers  [Mass.]. 
In:  Forest  and  Stream,  vi,  Apr.  27,  1876,  p.  181. 

1876.  KEYES,  F.  H.  May  Songsters  at  Springfield  [Mass.].  In: 
Forest  and  Stream,  vi,  June  20,  1876,  p.  338. 

1876.  MERRIAM,  C.  HART.  Passerculus  princeps  and  Parus  hud- 
sonicus  in  Connecticut.  In:  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  i,  No., 2, 
July,  1876,  p.  52. 

1876.  MINOT,  H.  D.  The  Summer  Birds  of  the  White  Mountain 
Region.  In:  Amer.  Nat.,  x,  No.  2,  1876,  pp.  75-80. 

Commentary  on  various  species. 

1876.  MORRIS,  ROBERT  T.  Game  Birds  of  Connecticut.  In : 
Forest  and  Stream,  vii,  Sept.  28,  1876,  p.  116. 

Notes  on  53  species. 

1876.  MORRIS,  ROBERT  T.  Local  Nomenclature  [for  wild  fowl  of 
Connecticut].  In:  Forest  and  Stream,  vii,  Dec.  7,  1876, 
p.  276. 

1876.  [MORRIS,  ROBERT  T.]  Birds  resident  at  New  Haven.  In  : 
Forest  and  Stream,  vi,  Mar.  2,  1876,  p.  52. 

1876.  PARKER,  S.  S.  A  report  [on  spring  birds]  from  New  Hamp- 
shire. In :  Forest  and  Stream,  vi,  Apr.  27,  1876,  p.  180. 

1876.  P[URDIE],  H.  A.  Birds  of  New  England.  In:  Bull.  Nut- 
tall  Club,  i,  No.  3,  Sept.,  1876,  pp.  72,  73. 

Making  some  required  additions  to  and  corrections  of  Dr.  Brewer's  Cata- 
logue of  1875. 

1876.  ROBINSON,  R.  E.  Spring  Birds  of  Vermont.  In:  Forest 
and  Stream,  vi,  June  22,  1876,  p.  318. 

1876.  [NEWCOMB,  R.  L.]     The  Massachusetts  Coast.     In :  Forest 

and  Stream,  vi,  Aug.  3,  1876,  p.  417. 

Ornithological  diary,  March  9  to  May  17. 

1877.  BREWER,  THOMAS  MAYO.     Defence  of  his  Catalogue  of  the 

Birds  of  New  England.     In  :  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  ii,  No.  2, 
Apr.,  1877,  pp.  44-48. 

Continuation  of  the  controversy. 

1877.  BROWN,  NATHAN  C.  Notes  on  Birds  new  to  the  Fauna 
of  Maine,  etc.  In :  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  ii,  No.  i,  Jan., 
1877,  pp.  27,  28. 

Five  species  given. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   THE    SUBJECT.  49 

1877.  BROWNE,  F.  C.  A  List  of  Birds  observed  on  and  around 
Clark's  Island,  Plymouth,  Mass.  In  :  Forest  and  Stream,, 
viii,  Mar.  22,  1877,  p.  96. 

1877.  GOODHUE,  C.  F.  The  Birds  of  Webster  [N.  H.]  and  ad- 
joining Towns.  In:  Forest  and  Stream,  viii,  1877,  pp.  33, 
49,98,  113,  146. 

Annotated  list  of  species. 

1877.  MERRIAM,  C.  HART.  A  Review  of  the  Birds  of  Connecticut, 
with  Remarks  on  their  Habits.  In :  Trans.  Conn.  Acad., 
iv,  1877,  pp.  1-165.  Also  separate,  I  vol.  8vo.  New 
Haven,  1877.  i  p.  1.,  pp.  1-1654-1. 

This  is  an  important  article,  being  the  best  authority  on  the  Birds  of  the 
State.  It  treats  more  or  less  fully  of  291  species,  with  special  reference  to 
Linsley's  catalogue  of  1843. 

1877.  MINOT,  H.  D.  The  Land-Birds  and  Game-Birds  of  New 
England,  with  Descriptions  of  the  Birds,  their  Nests  and 
Eggs,  their  Habits  and  Notes.  I  vol.  8vo.  Salem  and 
Boston,  1877.  pp.  i-xvi,  1-456,  many  illust. 

1877.  PURDIE,  H.  A.  Distribution  of  New  England  Birds.  A 
reply  to  Dr.  T.  M.  Brewer.  In:  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  ii, 
No.  i,  Jan.,  1877,  pp.  11-17. 

Continuation  of  the  controversy. 

1877.  PURDIE,  H.  A.  Notice  of  a  few  Birds  of  rare  or  accidental 
Occurrence  in  New  England.  In :  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  ii, 
No.  i,  Jan.,  1877,  pp.  20-22. 

Notes  on  14  species. 

1877.  TENNEY,  SANBORN.     The  Raven  and  the  Sooty  Tern  in  Wil- 

liamstown,  Mass.     In  :  Amer.  Nat,  xi,  No.  4,  1877,  p.  243. 
1878-  ALLEN,  JOEL  ASAPH.     A  List  of  the  Birds  of  Massachusetts, 
with  Annotations.     In:    Bull.  Essex  Inst,   x,    1878,   pp. 
3-37- 

Species  authentic  in  the  State,  317;  extirpated,  4;  of  probable  occurrence, 
24;  hypothetical  species,  3.  "  Considered  as  fairly  entitled  to  recognition  as 
Massachusetts  birds,"  340. 

1878.  ALLEN,  JOEL  ASAPH.     The   Carolinian   Fauna.     In:    Bull. 

Nuttall  Club,  iii,  No.  3,  July,  1878,  pp.  149,  150. 

1878.  BREWER,  THOMAS  MAYO.  Notes  on  certain  Species  of  New 
England  Birds,  with  additions  to  his  Catalogue  .of  the 
Birds  of  New  England.  In:  Proc.  Boston  Soc.  Nat.. 
Hist,  xix,  Apr.,  1878,  pp.  301-309. 

Twenty-one  species  to  add  to  his  list  of  1875. 

4 


5O  BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF    THE    SUBJECT. 

1878.  BROWNE,  F.  C.  Spring  Migration  of  Birds  [in  Massachu- 
setts]. In :  Forest  and  Stream,  x,  Mar.  7,  1878,  p.  76. 

Tabular  exhibit  of  dates  of  arrival  of  20  species. 

1878.   MURDOCK,  J.     Effects  of  the  warm  Winter  on  the  Migration 

of  Birds  [in  Massachusetts].     In:  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  iii, 

No.  2,  Apr.,  1878,  pp.  75,  76. 
1878.   [NEWCOMB,  R.  L.]     Extracts  from  a  Naturalist's  Note-Book 

[at  Salem,  Mass.].    In  :  Forest  and  Stream,  x,  Apr.  4,  1878, 

p.  155. 
1878.   NEWCOMB,  R.  L.     Field  Notes  [on  Birds  at  Salem,  Mass.]. 

In:  The  Country,  Apr.  13,  1878,  p.  354. 
1878.  NEWCOMB,    R.    L.     [Occurrence   of   Rare   Birds   at   Salem, 

Mass.]     In  :  The  Country,  June  29,  1878,  p.  152. 
1878.    PURDIE,  H.  A.     Capture  of  the  Yellow-Throated  Warbler  in 

Massachusetts,  and  Notes  on  other  Rare  Massachusetts 

Birds.     In  :  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  iii,  No.  3,  July,  1878,  p.  146. 

1878.  WOOD,  WILLIAM.     The  Birds  of  Connecticut.     In:  Familiar 

Sci.  and  Fancier's  Jour.,  new  ser.,  v,  1878,  pp.  6,  26,  49,  73, 
and  continued. 

1879.  BROWN,  NATHAN  C.     Notes  on  a  few  Birds  occurring  in  the 

Vicinity  of  Portland,  Me.     In  :  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  iv,  No. 
2,  Apr.,  1879,  p.  1 06. 

1879.  BROWNE,  F.  C.  Notes  on  Arrival,  Presence,  and  Departure 
of  Water  Birds,  at  and  near  Clark's  Island,  Plymouth, 
Mass.,  from  May  I  to  Dec.  26,  1852.  In :  Forest  and 
Stream,  xii,  June  19,  1879,  P-  — • 

Capture  of  Micropalama.  himantopus,  etc.,  in  1852. 

1879.  BOARDMAN,  GEORGE  A.  Southern  Birds  Down  East.  In  : 
Forest  and  Stream,  xiii,  Sept.  4,  1879,  P-  6°5- 

Cathartes  atratus  and  Rhynchops  nigra  in  Maine. 

1879.  BREWER,  THOMAS  MAYO.  Notes  on  New  England  Birds. 
In  :  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  iv,  No.  i,  Jan.,  1879,  PP-  63,  64. 

Occurrences  of  7  species. 

1879.  BREWER,  THOMAS  MAYO.  Some  Additional  Notes  upon 
Birds  observed  in  New  England,  with  the  names  of  five 
species  not  included  in  his  previous  Lists  of  New  England 
Birds.  In :  Proc.  Boston  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  xx,  for  May  7, 
1879,  pub.  Nov.,  Dec.,  1879,  PP-  263-277. 

Being  the  second  of  his  supplementary  lists;  see  1878  and   1875.     The  total 
of  New  England  birds  is  here  raised  to  361. 


BIRDS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 


FAMILY  TURDID^E:  THRUSHES. 

ROBIN. 
TURDUS  MIGRATORIUS  Linn. 

Chars.  Above,  dark  olive-gray,  becoming  black  on  the  head  and 
blackish  on  the  tail ;  under  parts,  to  the  vent,  and  including  the 
under  wing-coverts,  chestnut,  of  a  rich  deep  shade  in  adult  sum- 
mer birds,  paler  or  variegated  with  white  or  gray  in  immature 
examples.  Throat  streaked  with  white  and  black.  Three  white 
spots  on  the  eyelids.  Under  tail-coverts  and  tibiae  white,  mixed 
with  more  or  less  gray.  Wing-quills  dusky,  edged  with  hoary 
ash,  and  with  the  color  of  the  back.  Ends  of  outer  tail-feathers 
white.  Mouth  yellow.  Bill  of  a  rich  yellow,  often  with  dusky  tip  ; 
in  the  young,  dusky.  Feet  blackish,  the  soles  yellowish.  Eyes 
dark  brown.  Very  young  birds  are  speckled  above  and  below, 
each  feather  being  spotted.  The  Robin  is  subject  to  albinism, 
partial  or  complete  ;  and  instances  of  melanism  have  been  re- 
corded. Length,  9.50-10.50;  extent,  15.00-16.00;  wing,  5.00- 
5.50;  tail,  4.00-4  50  ;  bill,  0.80;  tarsus,  1.25. 

Summer  resident,  everywhere  abundant.  Arrives 
early  in  March,  and  departs  about  the  middle  of 
November;  but  individuals  may  be  found  at  times 
throughout  the  winter.  Breeds  in  great  numbers. 
The  nest  of  the  Robin  may  be  found  almost  anywhere, 
the  favorite  situations,  however,  being  in  trees  in 


52  TURDID^E  :    THRUSHES. 

orchards,  gardens,  and  fields ;  it  is  sometimes  placed 
on  rafters  or  under  the  eaves  of  houses,  more  rarely 
in  bushes  or  even  on  the  ground.  It  is  a  bulky 
structure,  largely  composed  of  mud,  surrounded  with 
coarse  and  lined  with  fine  vegetable  fibre.  The  eggs 

are  usually  four 
or  five  in  num- 
ber, plain  green- 
ish blue  (though 
occasionally 
speckled),  meas- 
uring i.io  to  1.25 
in  length,  by  0.75 
too.85inbreadth. 

FIG.  7.  —  HEAD  OF  ROBIN.     (Natural  size.)  J 

Two    or    three 

broods  may  be  reared ;  the  first  eggs  being  laid  in 
April,  the  next  late  in  May,  and  sometimes  another  set 
in  July.  The  Robin  is  one  of  the  most  beneficial  birds 
to  the  agriculturist,  destroying  incalculable  numbers 
of  noxious  insects  during  the  whole  time  that  it  is  en- 
gaged in  rearing  its  young.  The  enormous  amount 
of  insect  food  required  and  consumed  by  a  nestful  of 
young  Robins  can  hardly  be  realized  by  those  who  are 
not  familiar  with  the  statistics  which  have  been  derived 
from  actual  observation.*  It  is,  therefore,  entitled  to 
protection  and  encouragement,  notwithstanding  its  in- 
roads upon  garden  fruit  at  certain  seasons.  In  the  fall 
it  takes  to  the  woods,  and  gathers  in  large  flocks,  pre- 
paratory to  the  departure  of  most  of  the  individuals 
composing  them. 

*  See,  for  example,  the  observations  of  Lyle,  in  Am.  Nat.,  xii,  1878, 
p.  448;  or  of  Forbes,  in  Trans.  Illinois  Hortic.  Soc.,  xiii,  1879,  p.  120. 


TURDUS    N^EVIUS  :    VARIED    THRUSH.  53 

VARIED  THRUSH. 
TURDUS  N^EVIUS   Gm. 

Chars.  "  Above,  rather  dark  bluish  slate ;  under  parts  generally, 
a  patch  on  the  upper  eyelids  continuous  with  a  stripe  behind  it 
along  the  side  of  the  head  and  neck,  the  lower  eyelid,  two  bands 
across  the  wing-coverts  and  the  edges  of  the  quills,  in  part,  rufous 
orange  brown  ;  middle  of  the  belly  white.  Sides  of  head  and 
neck,  continuous  with  a  broad  pectoral  transverse  band,  black. 
Most  of  the  tail-feathers  with  a  terminal  patch  of  brownish  white. 
Bill  black.  Feet  yellow.  Female  more  olivaceous  above,  the 
white  of  the  abdomen  more  extended,  the  brown  beneath  paler  ; 
the  pectoral  band  obsolete.  Length,  9.75  ;  extent,  15.00  ;  wing, 
3.90;  tail,  1.25."—  (Baird.) 

The  Oregon  Robin,  or  Varied  Thrush,  is  only  a 
straggler  from  the  Pacific  slopes.  There  is  but  one 
authentic  instance 
of  its  occurrence 
in  New  England. 
A  single  individ- 
ual was 
taken  at 
Ipswich, 
Mass.,  in 
D  e  c  e  m- 
ber,  1864. 

(See  Coues,  Pr.  Es- 
sex Inst.,  v,  1868,  p. 
312;  Allen,  Am.  Nat., 
iii,  1869,  p.  572  ;  May- 
nard,  Nat.  Guide, 

l87O,  D.  80  ;    Brewer      FlG*  8-~HEAD  OF  VARIED  THRUSH.  (Nat.  size.) 

Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xvii,  1875^.438;  Allen,  Bull.  Essex 


54  TURDID^E  :    THRUSHES. 

Inst.,  x,  1878,  p.  oo ;  all  these  notices  referring  to  the 
same  case.) 

The  bird  had  been  previously,  but  wrongly,  accred- 
ited to  New  England ;  for  it  appeared  afterward  that 
a  specimen  found  in  the  Boston  market  was  really  from 
New  Jersey.  There  are  other  instances  of  the  capture 
of  specimens  at  Islip,  Long  Island,  and  at  Hoboken, 
New  Jersey.  (See  Coues>  Birds  Col.  Valley,  1878, 
p.  19.) 

WOOD  THRUSH. 

TURDUS    MUSTELINUS   Gm. 

Chars.  Upper  parts  tawny,  purest  and  deepest  on  the  head,  shading 
into  olive  on  the  rump  and  tail ;  below,  white,  faintly  tinged  on 
the  breast  with  buff,  nearly  everywhere  marked  with  large,  well- 
defined,  rounded  or  triangular  spots  of  blackish.  Inner  webs 
and  ends  of  wing-quills  dark  brown,  with  buffy  or  whitish  edging 
toward  their  bases.  Ear-coverts  sharply  streaked  with  dusky 
and  white.  Bill  blackish-brown,  with  flesh-colored  or  yellowish 
base  of  under  mandible.  Feet  flesh-colored.  This  is  the  largest 
species  of  the  subgenus  Hylocichla,  which  includes  all  the  smaller 
spotted  Thrushes  of  North  America.  Length,  7.50-8.00  ;  extent, 
about  13.00  ;  wing,  4.00-4.25  ;  tail,  3  00-3.25  ;  bill,  0.75  ;  tarsus, 
1.25.  The  sexes  are  alike.  In  its  first  plumage  the  young  is 
speckled  above. 

This  famous  vocalist,  whose  song  is  so  delightful  at 
dawn  and  sunset  during  the  mating  season,  is  a  sum- 
mer resident,  but  not  very  abundant,  and  less  so  in 
northern  than  in  southern  New  England,  being  de- 
cidedly the  most  southerly  of  the  four  common  species 
of  its  subgenus.  It  is  one  of  the  species  which  is  prac- 
tically limited  in  its  northward  range  by  the  Allegha- 
nian  Fauna,  and  its  presence  in  New  England  in 


TURDUS    PALLASI  :    HERMIT    THRUSH.  55 

midsummer  is  a  good  indication  that  such  locality 
belongs  to  this  Fauna.  It  is  found  chiefly  in  low, 
damp  woods,  and  in  thickets.  The  nest  is  usually 
placed  in  a  bush  or 
low  tree,  in  the  situa- 
tions just  indicated, 
a  few  feet  from  the 
ground.  It  is  com- 
posed of  leaves  and 
grasses,  with  a  layer 
of  mud,  and  then  a 

lining  of  fine  rootlets.  FJG  9  _HEAD  OF  WQOD  THRUSH>  (Nat 
The  eggs,  four  or  five 
in  number,  are  greenish-blue,  like  those  of  the  Robin, 
but  smaller,  being  1.05  to  1.12  in  length  by  0.68 
to  0.75  in  breadth.  They  are  laid  usually  about 
the  last  of  May.  The  bird  arrives  from  the  south 
early  in  May,  and  departs  for  its  winter  home  during 
October. 


HERMIT  THRUSH. 
TURDUS  PALLASI  Cab. 

Chars.  Above,  brownish-olive,  changing  on  the  rump  and  upper 
tail-coverts  to  reddish-brown ;  under  parts  white,  shaded  with 
olive-gray  on  the  sides,  tinged  with  buff  on  the  neck  and  breast, 
and  marked  with  numerous  large  angular  dusky  spots.  Throat 
unmarked.  A  yellowish  ring  round  the  eye.  Bill  dusky,  most 
of  the  under  mandible  pale.  Mouth  yellow.  Eyes  brown.  Feet 
pale  brownish.  Length  of  male,  7.00-7.50  ;  extent,  11.00-12.00  ; 
wing,  3.50-3.75  ;  tail,  2.75-3.00  ;  bill,  0.45  ;  tarsus,  i.oo.  Female 
smaller,  scarcely  7.00  long,  &c.  Very  young  birds  are  speckled 
on  the  upper  parts,  like  other  species  of  this  group,  and  of  vari- 
ous related  families  of  Oscines. 


56  TURDID^E  :    THRUSHES. 

[Obs.  The  proper  name  of  this  species  is  much  in  question,  and 
not  easy  to  determine.  The  earliest  designation  of  any  Amer- 
ican "  Hermit "  Thrush  appears  to  be  Turdus  aonalaschkae, 
Gm.,  Syst.  Nat,  1788,  p.  808,  from  the  island  of  Unalashka.  Sup- 
posing this  to  have  actual  reference  to  the  Western  variety  called 
Turdus  namis  by  Baird  in  1858,  and  by  most  subsequent  writers, 
and  remembering  that  Tiirdus  nanus  of  Audubon  was  based 
upon  a  specimen  from  Pennsylvania,  though  also  extended  to 
include  the  Western  form,  it  would  appear  that  by  strict  con- 
struction of  the  rules  of  nomenclature  the  Eastern  Hermit  Thrush 
should  be  called  Turdus  aonalaschk<zv&x.  nanus.  On  this  point, 
see  Coues,  Birds  Col.  Valley,  1878,  p.  20  ;  Ridgw.^  Proc.  Nat. 
Mus.,  ii,  1880,  p.  i.  —  C.] 

The  Hermit  Thrush  is  another  bird  whose  breeding 
range  draws  a  line  between  the  two  principal  Faunas 
of  New  England,  being  restricted  in  the  breeding  sea- 
son to  the  Canadian  Fauna,  as  the  Wood  Thrush  is 
to  the  Alleghanian.  It  hence  inhabits  northern  New 
England  and  the  higher  parts  of  Massachusetts  in  the 
summer,  but  is  only  a  migrant  in  spring  and  fall  in 
other  portions  of  the  country.  At  these  seasons,  and 
particularly  in  the  autumn,  it  is  very  common  in  south- 
ern New  England.  It  reaches  Connecticut  early  in 
April,  and  spreads  northward  during  that  month.  The 
return  movement  from  its  breeding  grounds  begins  in 
September,  but  is  protracted  through  the  greater  part 
of  November ;  and,  not  impossibly,  a  few  stragglers 
may  linger  in  winter  in  the  Connecticut  valley.  During 
the  breeding  season  it  is  a  shy,  solitary  bird,  inhab- 
iting chiefly  low,  dense  woods ;  but  it  is  more  gen- 
erally distributed,  and  oftener  seen,  during  the  migra- 
tions. The  nest  is  built  on  the  ground  or  very  near  it, 
in  some  low,  secluded  spot,  generally  in  dense  shrub- 
bery;  no  mud  is  used  in  its  composition,  the  structure 
being  a  rather  bulky  mass  of  leaves,  weeds,  bark,  and 


TURDUS    SWAINSONI  I     OLIVE-BACKED    THRUSH.       57 

grasses.  The  eggs,  four  or  five  in  number,  resem- 
ble those  of  the  Wood  Thrush  or  Robin  in  being 
greenish-blue,  normally  without  spots,  but  are  smaller, 
measuring  about  0.90  by  0.65  ;  they  are  indistinguish- 
able from  those  of  the  Veery.  The  Hermit  is  an  emi- 
nent vocalist,  but  sings  only  for  a  short  period  during 
the  nesting  season,  when  the  retiring  and  exclusive 
habits  of  the  bird  withdraw  it  from  common  observa- 
tion. It  utters  a  plaintive  note  of  two  syllables  when 
driven  from  its  nest,  and  at  other  times  has  only  a 
single  call-note.  As  the  name  implies,  it  is  the  most 
secretive  of  the  Thrushes  in  its  habits,  and  would  be 
little  known  were  it  not  so  abundant  and  so  widely 
dispersed  during  the  migrations. 


OLIVE-BACKED   THRUSH. 
TURDUS  SWAINSONI   Cab. 

Chars.  Above,  clear  olivaceous,  of  the  same  shade  over  all  the 
upper  parts ;  below,  white,  strongly  shaded  with  olive  on  the 
sides  ;  the  throat,  breast,  and  sides  of  the  head  and  neck  tinged 
with  buff,  and  most  of  the  under  parts,  except  the  throat,  marked 
with  numerous  large  dusky  spots  ;  a  strongly-marked  yellowish 
ring  around  the  eye  ;  mouth  yellow  ;  bill  blackish,  the  basal  half 
of  the  lower  mandible  pale ;  iris  dark  brown  ;  feet  pale  brown. 
Length  of  male,  7.00-7.50  ;  extent,  12.00-12.50;  wing,  4.00;  tail, 
3.00  ;  bill,  0.50  ;  tarsus,  i.io.  Female  smaller:  length,  6.75  ;  ex- 
tent, 11.50,  &c. 

The  range  of  the  Olive-backed  Thrush  in  New  Eng- 
land is  closely  coincident  with  that  of  the  Hermit. 
Like  the  latter,  it  breeds  in  the  Canadian,  and  is  a  mi- 
grant in  the  Alleghanian,  Fauna.  It  is  rather  less 


5  TURDID^S  :    THRUSHES. 

abundant  than  the  Hermit,  especially  during  the  mi- 
grations, in  most  localities ;  moreover,  it  arrives  rather 
later  in  the  spring,  and  does  not  linger  so  long  in 
the  autumn.  Entering  Connecticut  early  in  May,  it 
passes  on  to  the  Canadian  Fauna  during  that  month  ;  a 
few  doubtless  breed  in  elevated  portions  of  Massachu- 
setts, but  the  majority  go  farther  north.  Leaving  its 
breeding  grounds  early  in  September,  it  is  commonly 
seen  in  southern  New  England  during  that  month  and 
about  half  of  October,  generally  in  small,  straggling 
companies,  which  flit  secretly  through  the  woods  and 
shrubbery,  or  ramble  quietly  over  the  ground,  among 
fallen  leaves.  In  some  parts  of  Maine  and  New 
Hampshire  it  is  the  commonest  Thrush,  except  the 
Robin,  during  the  breeding  season.  Its  usual  resorts 
are  similar  to  those  of  the  Hermit,  but  the  mode  of 
nesting,  as  well  as  the  eggs,  is  quite  different,  though 
the  structure  of  the  nest  itself  is  much  the  same.  The 
nest  is  built  not  upon  the  ground,  but  in  a  bush  or  small 
tree,  at  a  man's  height,  or  beyond  it.  The  first  set  of 
eggs  is  laid  about  the  ist  of  June,  and  there  may  be 
a  second  set  five  or  six  weeks  later.  These  are  usu- 
ally four  in  number,  dull  greenish-blue  in  ground-color, 
but  freely  speckled  with  brownish.  In  size  they  are  not 
distinctively  different  from  those  of  the  Hermit,  but 
may  average  a  trifle  larger.  The  Olive-back  has  a 
pleasing  song  while  mating  and  nesting,  and  is  not  at 
all  chary  of  its  vocalization  at  such  times  ;  but  nothing 
will  be  heard  from  it  during  the  migrations  except  a 
sharp,  abrupt  call-note.  Its  general  habits  and  tastes 
are  like  those  of  the  Hermit,  the  most  evident  differ- 
ence between  the  two  birds  being  in  the  position  of 
their  nests  and  the  times  of  their  migrations. 


TURDUS    ALICIA  :    GRAY-CHEEKED    THRUSH.          59 

GRAY-CHEEKED   THRUSH. 
TURDUS  SWAINSONI  ALICIA  (Bd.)  Coues. 

Chars.  Similar  to  T.  swainsonij  differing  in  lacking  the  yellowish 
eye-ring  and  the  buffy  suffusion  on  the  breast  and  sides  of  the  head, 
in  being  rather  larger,  and  in  having  a  longer  and  comparatively 
slenderer  bill.  The  average  size  of  the  bird  represents  about  the 
maximum  dimensions  of  T.  swainsoni.  The  length  sometimes 
exceeds  8.00,  and  the  bill  is  rather  over  0.50. 

This  species  or  variety  is  common  in  New  England 
during  the  migrations,  but  is  not,  to  my  knowledge, 
known  to  breed  within  our  limits.  So  far  as  our  in- 
complete information  enables  us  to  judge,  it  is  de- 
cidedly a  more  northern  bird  than  the  Olive-backed 
Thrush  —  one  whose  breeding  range  does  not  reach 
south  of  the  Hudsonian  Fauna.  According  to  the  view 
taken  by  Dr.  Coues,  it  is  just  this  difference  in  the 
breeding  range  which  effects  those  distinctions  in  color 
and  size  which  have  been  claimed  as  specific,  the 
Gray-cheeked  Thrushes  being  the  larger  and  darker 
northern-bred  individuals  of  the  swainsoni  stock.  Mr. 
Allen  has  always  declined  to  recognize  the  bird  as  in 
any  way  distinct  from  the  Olive-backed,  uniting  the 
two  together  in  his  latest  list  of  Massachusetts  birds. 
Dr.  Brewer's  New  England  list  rates  it  as  a  good 
species,  with  the  remark :  "  migratory  in  spring  and 
fall."  Mr.  Minot  also  presents  it  as  a  species,  con- 
sidering it  "a  rare  migrant"  in  New  England.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Merriam,  it  occurs  in  Connecticut  with 
the  Olive-back  during  the  migrations,  being  more  nu- 
merous than  the  latter  in  some  parts  of  that  State,  as 
about  New  Haven,  and  less  so  in  other  localities. 


60  TURDID^E  :    THRUSHES. 

While  on  the  subject  of  the  specific  characters  of  the 
New  England  Thrushes,  I  may  note  how  easily  the 
four  leading  species  may  be  distinguished  by  the  color 
of  the  upper  parts  alone.  The  Wood  Thrush  is  tawny, 
turning  to  olive  on  the  rump.  The  Hermit  is  olive, 
turning  to  tawny  on  the  rump.  The  Olive-back  is 
entirely  olive.  The  Veery  is  entirely  tawny. 


TAWNY   THRUSH;    VEERY. 

TURDUS    FUSCESCENS    Stepk. 

Chars.  Above,  entirely  reddish-brown,  of  the  same  shade  through- 
out. Below,  white,  the  sides  shaded  with  pale  gray,  the  throat 
and  fore  breast  (only)  strongly  tinged  with  buff,  in  which  buff 
area  are  a  few  small  brown  arrow-heads,  the  chin  and  throat, 
however,  mostly  immaculate.  There  are  a  few  obsolete  grayish 
spots  in  the  white  of  the  lower  breast,  but  the  markings  are 
otherwise  confined  to  the  restricted  buff  area.  No  decided  light 
ring  around  the  eye.  Bill  dark  above,  mostly  pale  below  ;  feet 
pale.  Length  of  male,  7.00-7.50 ;  extent,  about  12.00;  wing, 
4.00-4.25;  tail,  3.00 ;  bill,  0.60;  tarsus,  1.20.  Female  smaller. 
Average  dimensions,  taken  from  both  sexes,  are  :  length,  7.35  ; 
extent,  11.75;  wmg>  3-9°  '•>  tail,  2.85  ;  tarsus.  1.12. 

The  Veery  is  the  commonest  of  the  Thrushes,  ex- 
cepting always  the  Robin,  in  southern  New  England 
during  the  breeding  season.  Like  the  Wood  Thrush, 
it  is  characteristic  of  the  Alleghanian  Fauna  at  such 
times,  though  it  also  extends  sparingly  into  the  Cana- 
dian, where  the  Hermit  and  the  Olive-back  are  so 
abundant  and  characteristic.  It  enters  Connecticut 
about  the  last  of  April,  and  reaches  Massachusetts 
early  in  May  ;  the  greater  number  are  then  already  on 
their  breeding  grounds,  but  few  passing  farther  on, 


MIMUS    POLYGLOTTUS  I     MOCKING-BIRD.  6 1 

as  just  intimated.  The  eggs  are  laid  about  the  1st  of 
June,  a  second  set  being  sometimes  deposited  in  July. 
The  nesting  habits,  as  well  as  the  general  traits  of  the 
bird,  are  similar  to  those  of  the  Hermit,  although  the 
Veery  is  not  so  retiring  and  solitary.  The  nest  is 
usually  placed  on  the  ground,  or  near  it,  at  the  foot 
of  a  bush  or  tussock,  though  sometimes  elevated  a 
little  distance.  The  eggs,  to  the  number  of  four  or  five, 
are  rather  pale  greenish-blue,  normally  unmarked,  and 
measure  on  an  average  about  o  85  by  0.60.  Neither  the 
nest  nor  the  egg  is  distinguishable  with  certainty  from 
that  of  the  Hermit.  The  departure  of  the  birds  in 
the  fall  is  prompt,  the  movement  beginning  early  in 
September,  and  being  concluded  in  the  fore  part  of  the 
following  month. 


MOCKING-BIRD. 

MlMUS    POLYGLOTTUS    (Z.)  BotC. 

Chars.  Above,  ashy-gray ;  below,  dull  white  ;  wings  and  tail  black- 
ish, the  former  marked  with  large  white  spaces  on  the  primary 
quills,  and  across  the  ends  of  the  coverts,  the  outer  tail-feathers 
entirely  white,  the  next  pair  (one  or  more)  tipped  with  white. 
Bill  and  feet  black,  the  former  often  pale  at  base  below  ;  soles 
dull  yellowish.  The  male  is  known  from  the  female  by  the  supe- 
rior size,  and  greater  extent  and  purity  of  the  white  markings  on 
the  wings  and  tail.  Young  birds  are  brownish-gray  above,  and 
speckled  below.  Length  of  male  about  10.00,  but  ranging  from 
9.50  to  11.00;  extent,  13.00-15.00;  wing,  4.00-4.50  ;  tail,  4.50- 
5.00;  bill,  0.75;  tarsus,  1.25. 

The  Mocking-bird  is  practically  restricted  in  its 
northward  extension  to  the  Carolinian  Fauna,  and  has 
but  once  been  observed  beyond  Massachusetts,  where, 


62 


THRUSHES. 


as  also  in  Connecticut  and  in  Rhode  Island,  it  is  a  rare 
summer  resident  —  if  indeed  it  be  of  more  than  casual 
occurrence.  Its  true  home  is  in  the  Southern  States, 
and  in  the  Middle,  even,  it  is  not  a  common  bird.  It 
was  given  in  1843  by  Linsley  as  a  bird  of  Connecti- 
cut, and  has  since  been  occasionally  reported  from  the 
three  nether  States  of  New  England.  According  to 
Allen,  writing  in  1864,  it  had  been  known  to  breed  in 
Springfield,  Mass.,  several  times  within  five  years,  and 
two  pairs  nested  there  in  1860.  Mr.  Samuels  gives 
it  as  a  rare  summer  resident,  occasionally  breeding  in 
Massachusetts  ;  and  Mr.  Brewster  took  it  late  in  the  fall 
near  Concord,  Mass.  Dr.  Brewer  records  a  specimen 

from      Nantucket, 
October    8,    1878, 
and  another  taken 
in  Boston,  Decem- 

WK$££»~£3aHS 

bery,  1878 
—  the    lat- 
ter,    how- 
ever, being 
unquestionably    an 
escaped  cage-bird. 
Mr.  Merriam  gives 
several     Connecti- 
cut instances.    The 
northernmost  point 
known  to  have  been 


FIG.  10.  —  MOCKING-BIRD. 
(About  |  natural  size.) 

Calais, 


reached  is 

Me.,  where  one  individual  was  observed 
by  Mr.  G.  A.  Boardman. 

The  principal  New  England  records  of  captures  or 
occurrences  are  as  follows:  —  Peabody,  Rep.  Orn. 
Mass.,  1839,  P-  3°°-  Linsley,  Am.  Journ.  Sci.,  xliv, 


MIMUS    CAROLINENSIS  I     CAT-BIRD.  63 

1843,  p.  255.  Allen,  Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  iv,  1864,  p.  67. 
Brewster,  Rod  and  Gun,  v,  Mar.  13,  1875,  p.  370. 
Merriam,  Rev.  Birds  Conn.,  1877,  p.  7.  Brewer,  Pr. 
Bost.  Soc.,  xx,  1879,  P* 


CAT-BIRD. 
MIMUS  CAROLINENSIS  (Z,.)    Gray. 

Chars.  Slate-colored,  paler  and  more  grayish  below.  Crown  of 
head,  wings,  tail,  bill  and  feet  black.  Under  tail-coverts  chestnut. 
Young  more  sooty-colored,  with  little  or  no  distinction  of  a  black 
cap,  and  the  under  tail-coverts  dull  rufous.  Length,  8.50-9.00  ; 
extent,  11.00-12.00  ;  wing,  3.50-3.75  ;  tail,  4.00  ;  bill,  0.70  ;  tarsus, 

I.OO-I.IO. 

An  abundant  summer  resident  throughout  nearly 
the  whole  of  New  England.  It.  is  restricted  in  its 
northern  extension  only  by  the  Canadian  Fauna, 
and  is  said  to  be 
wanting  in  New 
England  only  in 
northeastern 
Maine.  It  en- 
ters the  country 
the  last  of  April 
or  early  in  May, 
and  remains  FlG* 11< ~~ HEAD  OF  CAT-BIRD.  (Natural size.) 
through  the  greater  part  of  October  in  most  sections, 
only  finally  withdrawing  from  the  lower  Connecticut 
valley  in  November.  It  breeds  throughout  its  range. 
The  nest  is  one  of  the  most  familiar  objects  in  or- 
chards, shrubbery,  and  about  the  skirts  of  woods,  very 
generally  placed  but  a  few  feet  from  the  ground.  It  is 


64  TURDID^E  I    THRUSHES. 

constructed  chiefly  of  leaves,  bark-strips,  and  rootlets, 
mixed  with  twigs  of  considerable  size,  rags,  twine, 
&c., — but  roots  and  bark  are  usually  most  con- 
spicuous in  its  structure.  The  eggs,  to  the  number 
of  four  or  five,  are  rich  dark  bluish-green  in  color, 
unmarked,  measuring  about  0.90  long  by  0.68  broad. 
Two  broods  may  be  reared  under  favorable  circum- 
stances. The  first  set  of  eggs  is  laid  about  the  last 
of  May ;  the  next,  if  there  be  one,  early  in  July. 
Besides  its  curious  note  of  alarm  and  interrogation, 
from  the  sound  of  which  the  common  name  of  the  spe- 
cies is  derived,  the  Cat-bird  has  a  song  of  great  com- 
pass, variety,  and  melody.  Next  after  the  Thrasher 
and  the  Mocking-bird,  "prince  of  song,"  the  palm 
must  be  awarded  to  this  humble  tenant  of  the  shrub- 
bery for  power  of  mimicry  and  range  of  vocalization, 
as  well  as  for  sweetness  of  execution  in  singing.  It 
is  also  entitled  to  protection  and  grateful  regard  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  numbers  of  injurious  insects  which 
it  destroys  —  a  service  to  us  against  which  the  small 
quantity  of  fruit  which  the  Cat-bird  steals  should 
be  considered  no  offset.  Notwithstanding  its  musical 
ability,  its  harmless  and  inoffensive  disposition,  and  the 
benefits  it  confers  upon  the  agriculturist,  the  Cat-bird 
is  an  object  of  derision  and  persecution,  as  undeserved 
as  it  is  cruel.  It  is  not  easy  to  account  for  this  subtile 
yet  decided  aversion  which  the  bird  excites ;  but  it  is 
like  the  feeling  which  many  persons  have  against  cats, 
and  is  probably  occasioned  by  the  mewing,  cat-like 
cry  of  this  incomparable  mimic. 


HARPORHYNCHUS    RUFUS  :    THRASHER.  65 

BROWN    THRUSH;    THRASHER. 
HARPORHYNCHUS  RUFUS  (Z.)  Cab. 

Chars.  Above,  uniform  rich  rust-red,  with  a  bronzy  tint ;  below, 
white,  more  or  less  strongly  tinged  with  tawny,  especially  on  the 
breast  and  flanks,  and  marked  profusely  with  oval  or  lanceolate 
spots  of  dark  brown,  which  run  up  each  side  of  the  throat  in  a 
chain.  Throat,  belly,  and  under  tail-coverts  only  unspotted. 
Wings  and  tail  like  the  back,  the  tail-feathers  having  pale  tips, 
and  the  greater  and  median  wing-coverts  being  blackish  near 
their  ends,  then  conspicuously  tipped  with  white.  Bill  black, 
yellow  at  base  below.  Iris  fine  yellow.  Length,  about  n  inches  ; 
extent,  12.50-14.00  ;  wing,  3.75-4.25  ;  tail,  5.00  or  more  ;  bill,  i.oo  ; 
tarsus,  1.25. 

The  well-known  Thrasher  is  a  common  summer 
resident  in  southern  New  England,  though  less  abun- 
dant than  the  Cat-bird,  and  not  extending  so  far  north, 
being  de- 
ci  d  ed ly 
character- 
istic of  the 
Alleghan- 
ian  Fauna. 
It  does  not' 
appear  to 
be  so  hardy 
as  its  hum- 
ble relative 
just  named, 

FIG.  12.  — HEAD  OF  THRASHER.    (Natural  size.) 

dom  if  ever 

seen  even  in  Connecticut  after  the  first  few  days  of 
October.    It  arrives  late  in  April,  and  is  soon  dispersed 
5 


66  TURDID^E  :    THRUSHES. 

throughout  its  breeding  range,  which  includes  the 
lower  parts  of  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  and  Maine. 
Eggs,  to  the  varying  number  of  three  to  six,  are  usually 
kid  twice  each  season,  the  first  set  late  in  May,  the  next 
early  in  July.  The  habitual  resorts  of  the  Thrasher  are 
those  shared  with  the  Cat-bird,  and  the  mode  of  nidifica- 
tion  is  essentially  the  same  ;  though  there  is  greater  lati- 
tude of  choice  in  selecting  a  nesting  site,  which  is  some- 
times on  the  ground,  oftener  in  low,  thick  shrubbery, 
occasionally  twenty  feet  from  the  ground  in  a  close- 
foliaged  tree.  The  eggs  are  readily  recognizable,  be- 
ing dull  white  or  greenish-white,  thickly  and  minutely 
speckled  with  light  brownish  or  reddish  dots  ;  they  meas- 
ure an  inch  or  more  in  length,  by  about  four-fifths  of  an 
inch  in  breadth.  While  the  general  traits  and  habits 
of  the  Thrasher  resemble  those  of  the  Cat-bird  closely, 
the  former  is  a  shyer  and  more  retiring  bird,  keeping 
in  closer  concealment  in  the  shrubbery,  and  usually 
hiding  nearer  the  ground.  It  is  quick  and  furtive  in  its 
movements,  and  on  fearing  detection  will  often  long 
remain  motionless,  until  it  sees  a  chance  to  steal  si- 
lently away.  It  is  fond  of  rambling  on  the  ground, 
where  it  scratches  over  the  fallen  leaves  like  a  Towhee 
Bunting.  The  song  is  little  inferior  to  the  proper  per- 
formance of  the  Mocking-bird,  though  its  range  of 
mimicry  is  much  more  restricted.  Like  the  Cat-bird, 
the  Thrasher  delights  to  mount  to  some  high  or  iso- 
lated perch  during  the  nuptial  season,  and  there,  in 
an  easy  attitude,  with  depending  tail,  loosened  plu- 
mage, and  head  thrown  up,  repeat  again  and  again 
its  delightful  strains. 


SAXICOLA    CENANTHE  :    WHEAT-EAR. 


67 


FAMILY  SAXICOLID^ :  STONE  CHATS,  ETC. 


WHEAT-EAR;  STONE  CHAT. 
SAXICOLA  CENANTHE  (£•)  Bechst. 

Chars.  Adult:  Ashy-gray;  forehead,  supraciliary  line,  and  under 
parts  white,  latter  often  brownish-tinted.  Upper  tail-coverts 
white  ;  wings  and  tail  black,  latter  with  most  of  the  feathers  white 
for  half  their  length.  Line  from  nostril  to  eye,  and  broad  band 
on  side  of  head,  black.  Bill  and  feet  black.  Young,  everywhere 
cinnamon  brown,  paler  below.  Wing,  3.50 ;  tail,  2.50 ;  tarsus, 
i. oo ;  middle  toe  and  claw,  0.75.  —  (Coues.) 

A  rare  straggler  to  New  England,  of  entirely  for- 
tuitous occurrence. 

[In  1868,  I  included  this  species  in  my  New  Eng- 
land List  (Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  v,  1868,  p.  268),  on  the 
strength  of  its  repeated 
occurrence  along  the 
Atlantic  coast  of  North 
America,  from  Green- 
land and  Labrador  to 
Long  Island  and  the 
Bermudas.  The'  pro- 
priety of  enumerating  it 
among  the  New  Eng- 
land stragglers  has  been 
lately  established  by  Mr. 
Boardman,  who  records  a  specimen  secured  at  Calais, 
Maine  (Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  v,  1880,  p.  115).  I  found  the 
bird  in  Labrador  in  1860,  and  the  alleged  Nova  Scotian 


FIG.  13.  —  DETAILS  OF  STRUCTURE  OF 
Saxicola  oenanthe. 


68  SAXICOLID^E  :    STONE    CHATS,  ETC. 

example  mentioned  in  my  list  has  since  been  ascertained 
to  have  come  from  the  same  country  (see  Brewer, 
Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xvii,  1875,  P-  45°)»  where,  I  am  inclined 
to  believe,  the  Stone  Chat  will  ultimately  prove  to  be 
found  regularly,  and  not  so  rarely  as  has  been  sup- 
posed. Mr.  Boardman's  New  England  record  remains 
single.  Mr.  Lawrence's  Long  Island  record  is  in 
Ann.  N.  Y.  Lye.  Nat.  Hist.,  viii,  1866,  p.  282.—  C1.] 


BLUE-BIRD. 
SIALIA  SIALIS  (Z.)  Hald. 

Chars.  Male,  in  full  plumage:  Rich  azure-blue,  the  throat, 
breast  and  sides  chestnut,  the  belly  and  under  tail-coverts  white 
or  bluish-white,  the  ends  of  the  wing-quills  dusky.  Bill  and  feet 
black.  Female,  and  male  in  imperfect  plumage  :  The  blue  of 
the  upper  parts  obscured  by  grayish-brown,  or  interrupted  by 
reddish-brown  edging  of  the  feathers ;  the  chestnut  paler,  the 
whitish  of  the  belly  more  extended.  Newly-fledged  young  are 
brown  above,  becoming  blue  on  the  rump,  tail,  and  wings,  the 
back  streaked  with  whitish  lines,  nearly  all  the  under  parts 
speckled  with  white  and  brownish.  A  white  ring  around  the 
eye.  Length,  6.50-7.00;  extent,  12.00-13.00;  wing,  3.75-4.00; 
tail,  2.75-3.00 ;  bill,  0.45  ;  tarsus,  0.75.  Specimens  differ  much 
in  size,  and  interminably  in  color  during  the  progress  toward  the 
perfect  feathering.  Albinotic  individuals  have  been  observed. 

The  Blue-bird,  famed  for  the  beauty  of  its  color  and 
the  dreamy  delight  of  its  voluptuous  warbling,  is 
chiefly  a  summer  resident  in  New  England,  excepting, 
probably,  the  northern  portions  of  Maine.  While  not 
strictly  limited  in  its  northward  range  by  the  Alleghan- 
ian  Fauna,  it  is  nevertheless  much  more  abundant  and 
more  generally  dispersed  in  that  area  and  in  the  Caro- 


SIALIA   SIALIS  :    BLUE-BIRD.  69 

linian,  than  in  the  Canadian.  In  southern  New  Eng- 
land, and  particularly  in  the  lower  valley  of  the  Con- 
necticut, a  few  Blue-birds  may  be  observed  in  the 
winter,  at  any  time  during  mild  open  weather ;  but  it 
does  not  follow  that  such  birds  actually  pass  the  whole 
season  within  our  limits.  As  one  of  the  earliest  har- 
bingers of  spring,  this  agreeable  bird  appears  in  south- 
ern New  England  sometime  in  February  ;  and  the  flocks 
which  make  up  in  the  fall  do  not  all  leave  before  the 
middle  of  November.  From  March  to  October,  how- 
ever, the  Blue-birds  are  in 
full  force,  and  there  are  few 
localities  in  the  southern 
part  of  New  England 
where  they  are  not  famil- 
iar and  abundant  birds 
about  the  habitation  of 
man,  though  they  grow 
less  numerous  as  we  pass 
northward  of  Massachu- 
setts. They  are  very  ben- 
eficial birds,  destroying  F'°-  "--HEADY  BLUE-BIRD.  (Nat.  size.) 

great  numbers  of  insects,  though  they  also  feed  ex- 
tensively on  various  berries  and  other  small  soft  fruits. 
The  nest  is  placed  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree,  stump,  or 
fence,  or  in  the  box  so  often  provided  for  their  ac- 
commodation. It  consists  chiefly  of  dried  grasses  or 
other  soft  vegetative  materials,  but  may  also  be  fur- 
nished with  feathers  or  hair.  The  bird  is  an  early 
breeder,  constructing  its  first  nest  in  April,  and  usually 
having  eggs  by  the  first  week  in  May ;  another  set 
may  be  laid  late  in  June.  The  eggs  are  commonly 
four  to  six  in  number ;  but  if  they  be  taken,  as  many 


7O  SAXICOLIDyE  I    STONE    CHATS,    ETC. 

as  fifteen  or  twenty  may  be  successively  deposited  by 
the  distressed  but  persevering  parent.  The  eggs  are 
very  pale  blue  in  color,  sometimes  almost  white,  and 
are  unmarked;  they  measure  from  0.75  to  0.85  in 
length,  by  0.60  to  0.65  in  breadth. 

Being  among  the  most  familiar  of  our  several  half- 
domesticated  native  species,  which  habitually  breed 
about  the  dwelling-places  of  man  in  the  boxes  or  other 
shelter  provided  for  their  accommodation,  the  Blue- 
birds have  of  late  years  been  incessantly  subjected  to 
annoyance  by  the  European  Sparrow.  These  aggres- 
sive and  quarrelsome  birds,  finding  the  boxes  quite  to 
their  liking,  commonly  attempt  to  take  forcible  pos- 
session, and  drive  out  the  rightful  occupants.  To  their 
credit  be  it  said,  however,  the  Blue-birds  resent  the 
intrusion  with  more  spirit  than  such  mild-mannered 
creatures,  of  the  utmost  gentleness  of  disposition,  might 
be  expected  to  display  ;  being  not  seldom  successful  in 
the  attempt  to  defend  themselves  and  hold  their  own. 
Sharp  disputes,  however,  are  inevitable,  in  all  places 
where  the  Sparrows  are  numerous,  and  only  cease 
with  the  complete  discomfiture  of  either  the  attacking 
or  the  defending  party ;  and  the  inoffensive  Blue-birds 
are  sometimes  forced  to  contend  against  successive 
outrages  of  this  kind,  till  all  the  Sparrows  in  the  vicin- 
ity, satisfied  of  the  futility  of  their  attempts  to  dis- 
possess the  resolute  Blue-birds,  direct  their  hostilities 
against  other  birds,  such  as  Swallows,  less  fitted  by 
nature  to  withstand  their  attack. 


R.  CALENDULA  :    RUBY-CROWNED    KINGLET.          71 


FAMILY  SYLVIID^:  SYLVIANS. 

RUBY-CROWNED  KINGLET. 
REGULUS  CALENDULA  (Z.)  Licht. 

Chars.  Above,  olive-green,  becoming  brighter  on  the  rump,  the 
wings  and  tail  dusky,  edged  with  yellowish  ;  wings  crossed  with 
two  whitish  bars,  and  inner  secondaries  edged  with  the  same. 
Under  parts  dull  whitish,  tinged  more  or  less  strongly  with  buffy 
or  yellowish  or  greenish-gray.  A  whitish  ring  around  the  eye. 
Crown  with  a  concealed  patch  of  rich  scarlet  (wanting  in  the 
young,  and  also  in  many  spring  birds ;  supposed  not  to  be  ac- 
quired till  the  second  year).  Bill  and  feet  black.  Length  about 
4.25,  but  varying  from  4.10  to  4.50;  extent,  6.75-7.50;  wing, 
2.10-2.30  ;  tail,  1.75  ;  bill,  0.25  ;  tarsus,  0.75. 

This  dainty  little  creature  is  one  of  the  many  birds 
which  mark  the  distinction  between  the  Canadian  and 
Alleghanian  Faunas,  being  apparently  limited  by  the 
former  in  its  southward  range  during  the  breeding  sea- 
son. There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  it  breeds 
in  northern  New  England,  where  it  has  been  observed 
in  summer ;  but  I  am  not  aware  that  the  inference  has 
been  established  as  a  fact  by  the  discovery  of  its  nest 
and  eggs.  In  the  greater  part  of  New  England,  how- 
ever, the  Ruby-crown  occurs  only  as  a  spring  and 
autumn  migrant,  appearing  in  the  Alleghanian  Fauna 
during  the  first  half  of  April,  on  its  northward  way, 
remaining  a  month  or  so,  and  then  passing  on,  to 
recur  again  during  the  autumnal  movement,  in  Octo- 
ber and  the  following  month.  While  migrating  it  is 
abundant  in  woods,  orchards,  and  gardens,  though  on 


72  SYLVIID^E  I     SYLVIANS. 

the  whole  less  numerous  than  the  Golden-crest,  with 
which  it  freely  associates,  as  it  does  also  with  the 
Chickadees,  Nuthatches,  Creepers,  and  various  War- 
blers, in  active,  restless  troops,  which  roam  inces- 
santly through  the  foliage.  The  Ruby-crown  has 
been  taken  so  late  in  the  season,  in  Connecticut,  as  to 
render  it  not  improbable  that  a  few  individuals  may 
linger  in  winter  in  southern  New  England.  The  de- 
termination of  its  breeding  range  is  a  matter  of  special 
interest,  which  it  is  hoped  may  be  not  much  longer 
delayed.  The  nest  has  been  found  in  Colorado,  in  a 
spruce,  about  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground ;  it  was  a 
lovely  felted  mass  of  hair  and  feathers,  mixed  with 
moss  and  some  short  pieces  of  straw,  and  was  quite 
large  in  comparison  with  its  diminutive  owner.  It  con- 
tained five  young  birds  and  one  egg. 

"In  autumn  and  winter,"  says  Mr.  Minot,  "their 
only  note  is  a  feeble  lisp.  In  the  spring,  besides  occa- 
sionally uttering  an  indescribable  querulous  sound,  and 
a  harsh,  grating  note,  which  belongs  exclusively  to 
that  season,  the  Ruby-crowned  Wrens  sing  extremely 
well,  and  louder  than  such  small  birds  seem  capable 
of  singing.  Their  song  commonly  begins  with  a  few 
clear  whistles,  followed  by  a  short,  very  sweet,  and 
complicated  warble,  and  ending  with  notes  like  the  syl- 
lables tu'-we-we,  tu'-Tve-ive,  tu'-ive-ive.  These  latter 
are  often  repeated  separately,  as  if  the  birds  had  no 
time  for  the  prelude,  or  are  sometimes  merely  pref- 
aced by  a  few  rather  shrill  notes  with  a  rising  inflec- 
tion."  (B.  N.  E.,  1877,  p.  55.) 


R.  SATRAPA  I    GOLDEN-CRESTED    KINGLET.          73 

GOLDEN-CRESTED  KINGLET. 
REGULUS  SATRAPA  Licht. 

Chars.  Above,  olive-green,  brightest  on  the  rump ;  the  wings  and 
tail  dusky,  edged  with  yellowish,  the  former  having  two  whitish 
bars  across  the  greater  and  median  coverts,  and  also  having  the 
secondaries  marked  with  blackish  and  whitish.  Crown  of  the 
head,  in  the  male,  with  a  central  bed  of  flame-color,  bordered  in 
front  and  on  the  sides  with  rich  yellow,  this  similarly  bordered 
with  black,  this  again  with  hoary  whitish.  Bill  black ;  feet  dark. 
Female  and  young  similar,  but  lacking  the  scarlet  patch  in  the 
yellow.  Rather  smaller  than  the  Ruby-crown.  Length  about 
4.00;  extent,  6.50-7.00;  wing,  2.00-2.10;  tail,  1.65-1.75;  bill, 
0.20 ;  tarsus,  0.50. 

Like  its  nearest  relative,  the  Golden-crest  is  one  of 
the  species  whose  southward  range  in  the  breeding 
season  is  limited  by  the  Canadian  Fauna.  It  however 
appears  to  be  of  a  more  hardy  nature,  enabling  it  to 
endure  the  rigors  of  a  New  England  winter.  Though 
most  abundant  and  most  generally  dispersed  during 
the  migrations  in  spring  and  fall,  it  may  be  found  at 
any  time  from  October  until  the  latter  part  of  the  fol- 
lowing April,  when  it  retires  to  its  breeding  grounds, 
in  northern  New  England  and  northward.  It  is  there- 
fore a  permanent  resident  of  the  country,  breeding  in 
the  Canadian  and  wintering  in  the  Alleghanian  Fauna. 
Dr.  Brewer  is  certainly  mistaken  in  giving  it  in  his  list 
as  only  "  migratory,  in  spring  and  fall,"  in  southern 
New  England.  Thus,  Mr.  Merriam  says,  for  Con- 
necticut :  "A  winter  resident ;  have  seen  it  at  repeated 
intervals  from  Oct.  I3th  till  spring  (May)."  Even  in 
Massachusetts,  according  to  Allen,  the  bird  is  "  chiefly 
a  winter  visitant,  occurring  in  variable  abundance  in 
different  years,  but  usually  more  or  less  common." 


74 


SYLVIID^E  :     SYLVIANS. 


The  Golden-crest  had  long  been  known  as  a  sum- 
mer resident  in  the  Canadian  Fauna,  and  had  several 
times  been  observed  under  circumstances  which  left 
no  doubt  of  its  breeding  there,  before  the  fact  was 
placed  beyond  question  by  the  actual  discovery  of  the 
nest.  Such  was  particularly  the  case  in  Maine.  Thus 
Messrs.  Maynard  and  Brewster,  writing  of  obser- 
vations made  in 
1871,  remark  as 
follows:  "Quite 
common  at  Um- 
bagog  in  June. 
It  breeds ;  and 
judging  from  the 
condition  of  fe- 
male specimens 
taken,  lays  its 
eggs  about  June 
1st.  Although 
we  found  several 
pairs  in  the  thick 
hemlock  woods, 
that  evidently  had  nests  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  yet 
we  were  unable  to  discover  them.  It  probably  builds 
in  the  long  hanging  moss  which  grows  so  abundant  on 
the  trees  in  these  northern  forests.  Given  as  perhaps 
breeding  rarely  at  Norway  (S.  I.  Smith)"  (Pr.  Bost. 
Soc.,  xiv,  Oct.,  1871,  pub.  1872).  Mr.  Allen's  latest 
list  of  Massachusetts  birds  gives  the  Golden-crest  as 
perhaps  breeding  in  portions  of  Berkshire  County,  as 
it  has  also  been  reported  by  T.  M.  Trippe  (Am.  Nat., 
vi,  p.  47)  to  do  in  the  Catskills  (Bull.  Essex  Inst.,  x, 
1878,  p.  611).  The  credit  of  actually  discovering  the 


FIG.  15.  —  GOLDEN-CRESTED  KINGLET. 


R.    SATRAPA  :    GOLDEN-CRESTED    KINGLET.  75 

nest  in  New  England  belongs  to  Mr.  H.  D.  Minot, 
who  took  one  on  the  i6th  of  July,  1876,  in  the  White 
Mountains  of  New  Hampshire,  in  a  forest  of  ever- 
greens and  birches.  "  Having  several  times  observed 
the  birds  there,"  he  writes,  "  I  at  last  detected  them  in 
the  act  of  conveying  food  to  their  young,  and  soon 
tracked  them  to  their  nest.  This  hung  four  feet  above 
the  ground,  from  a  spreading  hemlock-bough,  to  the 
twigs  of  which  it  was  firmly  fastened.  It  was  globu- 
lar, with  an  entrance  at  the  upper  part,  and  was  com- 
posed of  hanging  moss,  ornamented  with  bits  of  dead 
leaves,  and  lined  chiefly  with  feathers.  It  contained 
six  young  birds."  (B.  N.  E.,  1877,  p.  56.) 

[To  pursue  the  interesting  subject  of  the  breeding 
of  this  bird,  all  items  relating  to  which  are  still  news 
to  most  persons :  Mr.  Harold  Herrick  has  recently 
stated,  in  his  list  of  the  birds  of  Grand  Menan,  that 
the  species  breeds  in  that  locality.  Mr.  Allen  has 
spoken  of  finding  the  .young  on  Mount  Monadnock, 
the  third  week  in  August,  1876.  Dr.  T.  M.  Brewer 
has  lately  published  a  special  paper,  entitled,  "Nest 
and  Eggs  of  the  Golden-crowned  Kinglet  {Regulus 
satrapa}"  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Nuttall  Club,  iv,  No. 
2,  April,  1879,  PP*  96-99-  ^n  tnis  article  the  writer 
gives  the  result  of  his  examination  of  "one  often  eggs 
from  an  unknown  nest,  but  which,  by  the  pretty  sure 
rule  of  exclusion,  cannot  well  belong  to  any  other  spe- 
cies." Though  the  evidence  is  not  conclusive,  there 
is  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  nest  in  mention  was 
really  that  of  the  Golden-crest.  It  was  found  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Bangor,  Maine,  where  the  bird  is 
stated  to  be  a  not  uncommon  summer  resident,  and 
was  built  at  an  altitude  of  about  six  feet  from  the 


76  SYLVIID^E  :    SYLVIANS. 

ground.  The  nest  "  consisted  of  a  large  ball  of  soft 
moss,  the  whole  forming  a  mass  about  4^-  inches  in 
diameter.  The  opening  was  at  the  top,  and  was  about 
ij  inches  across,  and  2  inches  deep.  The  nest  was 
in  one  of  those  bunches  of  thick  growth  so  common 
on  many  of  our  fir-trees,  and  contained  ten  eggs,  of  the 
following  dimensions :  .52X-4-I;  .5OX.4O;  .5oX«4i; 
•Sox. 41;  -47X-39;  -47X-39;  -52X.4i;  .5ix.4i; 
.50X-4I ;  50  X  .41.  The  eggs  are  of  a  creamy-white 
color,  and  are  covered  with  very  obscure  spots,  so 
very  obscure,  in  fact,  that  they  merely  give  a  dingy 
or  dirty  tint  to  the  egg ;  and  some  to  whom  I  have 
shown  them  are  doubtful  if  they  are  spots,  but  I  re- 
gard them  as  extremely  obscure  and  confluent  spots, 
not  on,  but  in,  the  shell.  From  the  number  of  the 
eggs,  their  extreme  smallness,  and  the  situation  of  the 
nest,  I  have  been  inclined  to  believe  it  to  be  a  King- 
let's." This  part  of  Dr.  Brewer's  article  is  copied  from 
a  letter  from  Mr.  Harry  Merrill.  The  author  speaks 
of  the  eggs,  after  examination  with  a  magnifier,  as 
follows :  "  I  find  the  ground-color  to  be  white  with 
shell-marks  of  purplish-slate,  and  a  few  obscure  super- 
ficial markings  of  a  deep  buff,  giving  to  the  ground 
the  effect  of  cream-color."  The  resemblance  of  the 
egg  to  that  of  7?.  cristatus  of  Europe  is  stated  to  be 
so  close  that  the  two  are  indistinguishable.  This  is, 
I  think,  the  second  account  ever  given  of  the  eggs 
of  the  Golden-crest,  the  first  having  appeared  in  the 
Journ.  fur  Ornith.  for  1856,  p.  23,  with  a  figure  (pi.  I, 
No.  8) .  Mr.  Minot's  description  of  the  nest  was  the 
first  to  appear.  — C.] 


POLIOPTILA  CCERULEA:  GNATCATCHER. 


77 


BLUE-GRAY  GNATCATCHER. 
POLIOPTILA  CCERULEA  (Z.)  Scl. 

Chars.  Clear  ashy-blue,  brightest  on  crown,  hoary  on  rump  ;  fore- 
head and  line  over  eye  black  ;  below,  milk-white,  slightly  shaded 
on  sides  ;  wings  blackish,  the  inner  quills  edged  with  hoary  ;  tail 
black,  outer  feather  mostly  or  wholly  white,  next  about  half 
white,  next  tipped  with  white.  Bill  and  feet  black.  Female  sim- 
ilar, but  duller  and  more  grayish-blue,  lacking  black  on  head. 
Length,  4.50-5.00 ;  extent,  6.25-7.00  ;  wing,  2.00-2.25  ;  tail  about 
the  same. 

A  rare  visitor  to  southern  New  England,  in  the  Caro- 
linian Fauna;  of  only  casual  occurrence  beyond. 


FIG.  16.  —  BLUE-GRAY  GNATCATCHER.     (Natural  size.) 

[I  wish  to  take  this  species  in  illustration  of  some 
remarks  I  have  to  offer  concerning  the  preparation  of 
certain  lists  of  New  England  birds,  —  one  by  myself, 


78  SYLVIID^E  I    SYLVIANS. 

in  1868,  and  another  by  the  late  lamented  Dr.  T.  M. 
Brewer,  in  1875,  w^h  *ts  two  supplements  of  1878 
and  1879  respectively.  Shortly  after  my  list  appeared, 
Dr.  Brewer  wrote  to  me,  criticising  my  performance  in 
general  and  in  particular,  both  as  to  my  method  of 
compiling  a  local  list,  and  as  to  the  appearance  in  the 
list  of  various  species,  to  the  number  of  about  thirty, 
which  he  protested  had  no  proper  claim  to  a  place 
there.  I  replied,  in  substance,  that  I  knew  what  I 
was  about,  and  that  I  would  suggest  to  him  to  make 
a  better  list  of  New  England  birds,  if  he  thought  he 
could  do  so.  When  his  list  appeared,  some  years 
afterward,  he  expurgated  about  thirty  species,  nearly 
all  of  them  being  among  those  I  had  included,  and 
nearly  all  being  also  species  which  he  was  compelled 
to  restore  to  the  list  within  two  years.  I  submit  that 
the  general  accuracy  and  good  scientific  character  of 
my  list  have  been  fully  vindicated. 

The  point  at  issue  appears  to  be  this :  Neither 
author,  of  course,  would  include  any  species,  of  the 
occurrence  of  which  in  New  England  he  was  not  fully 
satisfied.  But  each  had  his  own  way  of  satisfying 
himself.  If  either  of  us  had  confined  his  list  to  such 
species  as  he  knew,  of  his  own  personal  knowledge, 
to  occur,  neither  list  would  have  approached  any- 
where near  completion.  I  had  not  myself  seen  in  New 
England  one  half  of  the  birds  in  my  list ;  and  I  doubt 
that  Dr.  Brewer's  list  would  have  come  within  a  hun- 
dred species  of  completion  if  he  had  confined  himself 
to  such  species  as  he  had  actually  seen  in  New  Eng- 
land. The  two  lists,  therefore,  are  in  every  sense 
compiled,  each  author  availing  himself  of  all  the  in- 
formation in  his  possession,  whether  derived  from  per- 


POLIOPTILA   CCERULEA  :    GNATCATCHER.  79 

sonal  observation,  from  the  published  experiences  of 
others,  or  elsewhere. 

Dr.  Brewer's  attitude  in  the  case  is  defined  in  the 
following  quotation  from  the  preface  of  his  list :  "  It 
has  been  my  sole  aim  to  furnish  a  list  that  shall  be 
reliable  so  far  as  it  goes.  I  may  have  omitted  some 
that  are  entitled  to  a  place.  Be  it  so ;  I  had  rather 
omit  ten  that  may  be  found  than  retain  one  that  never 
has  been." 

My  own  position,  I  am  glad  to  say,  was  different. 
Like  my  collaborator  in  the  same  field,  I  aimed  to 
furnish  a  list  that  should  be  reliable ;  but  I  also  aimed 
to  cover  the  whole  ground,  so  far  as  the  data  at  my 
command  enabled  me  to  do  so.  I  therefore  compiled 
a  list  which,  my  critic  is  good  enough  to  say,  "  is  re- 
markable for  the  laborious  research  and  investigation 
it  displays,  and  is  by  far  the  most  complete  catalogue 
we  have  [1875]."  ^n  a^  doubtful  cases  I  searched  the 
published  records  with  care  for  evidence ;  I  admitted 
no  species  that  that  testimony  did  not  seem  to  warrant. 
As  a  part  of  the  evidence  bearing  on  such  cases,  I  ad- 
mitted and  made  use  of  our  actual  knowledge  respect- 
ing the  geographical  distribution  of  species,  and  the 
composition  of  the  local  Avi-faunae  into  which  the  East- 
ern Province  is  divisible  —  a  source  of  information 
which  my  critic  ignored  entirely,  and  the  significance 
of  which  he  seems  never  to  have  had  the  wit  to  grasp. 
I  hold  that  logical  deduction  from  certain  known  facts 
may  be  a  positive  and  decisive  kind  of  knowledge ; 
and  that  the  mental  processes  concerned  are  strictly 
scientific.  However  satisfactory  to  himself  Dr.  Brew- 
er's modes  of  thought  may  have  been,  my  own  are 
worth  more  to  me.  I  enjoy  and  make  use  of  other 


80  SYLVIIDJE  :    SYLVIANS. 

cognitions  than  those  derived  from  eyesight  or  hear- 
say, and  feel  little  respect  for  a  frame  of  mind  that 
prefers  to  take  "ten  to  one"  chances  of  blundering 
empirically  as  against  logical  results  of  ratiocination. 

Polio ftila  ccerulea  inhabits  the  whole  of  the  Caro- 
linian Fauna  in  the  breeding  season,  and  is  apparently 
restricted  to  that  Fauna  in  its  normal  northward  exten- 
sion at  that  time.  The  Carolinian  Fauna  includes  a 
portion  of  New  England. 

In  1868  I  catalogued  the  bird  as  "  a  rare  and  per- 
haps accidental  summer  visitor"  in  New  England 
(Proc.  Essex  Inst.,  v,  p.  268).  I  quoted  the  authority 
of  Dr.  Brewer,  as  given  by  Peabody  (p.  297)  for  its 
occurrence  in  Massachusetts,  and  as  far  north  as  Can- 
ada, for  Dr.  Brewer  had  placed  it  inferentially  in  the 
list  of  Massachusetts  birds  in  1836  (Journ.  Bost.  Soc., 
i,  p.  436).  Allen  had  shortly  before  accredited  it  to 
Connecticut  (Pr.  Ess.  Inst.,  iv,  1864,  p.  83),  as  Linsley 
had  long  previously  done  (Am.  Journ.  Sci.,  xliv,  1843, 
p.  259).  Linsley's  record  is  recognized  by  Merriam 
(B.  Conn.,  1877,  p.  144)  as  probably  authentic.  In 
1875  Brewer  expunged  the  species  as  being  "  wholly 
unknown  in  any  New  England  State  "  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc., 
xiv,  p.  451).  In  1878  Mr.  H.  A.  Purdie  recorded  sev- 
eral instances  of  the  occurrence  of  the  species  in  Mas- 
sachusetts and  in  Rhode  Island  (Bull.  Nuttall  Club, 
ii,  Jan.,  1877,  p.  20).  In  1877  Mr.  Merriam  catalogued 
the  bird  as  "  a  rare  summer  visitant "  in  Connecticut, 
with  the  following  remarks:  *  *  Stratford,'  Linsley. 
Two  were  shot  at  Wauregan  (Windham  County), 
Conn.,  by  Mr.  C.  M.  Carpenter  —  a  male  in  1874 
and  a  female  in  1876.  Three  or  four  were  seen  by 
me  at  Providence,  R.  I.,  May  23,  1875  "  —  quoting 


POLIOPTILA  CCERULEA:  GNATCATCHER.          81 

Purdie  as  just  cited,  but  adding  that  he  learned 
from  Mr.  Jencks  that  the  Connecticut  part  of  this 
record  was  a  mistake,  all  the  specimens  in  mention 
having  been  taken  in  Rhode  Island  (B.  Conn.,  1877, 
pp.  8,  9).  In  1878  Mr.  R.  Deane  gave  an  instance 
of  the  capture  of  a  specimen  at  Chatham,  Mass.,  Nov. 
18,  1877  (Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  iii,  Jan.,  1878,  p.  45). 
This  Massachusetts  record  is  quoted  by  Allen  (Bull. 
Essex  Inst.,  x,  1878,  p.  12).  In  1878  Dr.  Brewer 
restored  the  long-waiting  bird  to  the  list  admitted  by 
him,  on  the  strength  of  the  occurrences  reported  by 
Purdie  and  Deane,  as  just  cited  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xix, 
1878,  p.  301).  The  same  writer  was  very  shortly  called 
upon  to  again  record  the  bird  as  one  of  New  England, 
a  specimen  having  been  taken  by  Mr.  F.  J.  C.  Swift 
in  Falmouth,  Mass.,  Dec.  18,  1877  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club, 
iii,  July,  1878,  p.  146,  and  Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xx,  1879,  p. 
264).  Just  as  Dr.  Brewer's  last-cited  paper  was  going 
to  press,  in  October,  1879,  ne  was  informed  of  the  cap- 
ture of  another  specimen  by  Mr.  Arthur  P.  Chad- 
bourne  at  Osterville,  Cape  Cod,  Sept*  26,  1879  5  and 
this  record  was  indorsed  in  a  foot-note  on  the  same 
page  (p.  264).  Finally,  another  Massachusetts  record 
was  made  by  Mr.  R.  Deane  —  that  of  a  young  female 
taken  Aug.  27,  1879,  at  Magnolia  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club, 
v,  Jan.,  1880,  p.  47).  This  case  warrants  the  infer- 
ence that  the  bird  breeds  in  New  England ;  and  I 
have  no  doubt  that  such  will  prove  to  be  the  case.  The 
discovery  of  the  nest  is  a  mere  matter  of  time. 

The  above  includes  the  entire  New  England  record 
of  the   Blue-gray  Gnatcatcher,  so   far  as   known   to 
me.  —  C.] 
6 


82 


PARID^E  I    TITMICE. 


FAMILY  PARID^: :  TITMICE. 


TUFTED  TITMOUSE. 

LOPHOPHANES    BICOLOR    (Z.)    JBp. 

Chars.  Head  crested.  Upper  parts,  including  the  wings  and  tail, 
leaden-gray.  Sides  of  head  and  entire  under  parts  dull  whitish, 
the  sides  washed  with  chestnut ;  a  black  frontlet  at  base  of  the 
crest.  Bill  plumbeous-blackish  ;  feet  leaden-blue.  The  young 
lack  the  black  frontlet,  and  may  have  little  of  the  chestnut  wash 
on  the  sides.  Length,  6.00-6.50  ;  extent,  9.75-10.75  ;  wing,  3.00- 
3  25  ;  tail  about  the  same  ;  bill,  0.45  ;  tarsus,  0.75. 

The  case  of  the  Tufted  Titmouse  in  New  England 
is  closely  coincident  with  that  of  the  Blue-gray  Gnat- 
catcher.  The  bird  is  properly  limited  in  its  northward 

extension  by  the  Carolinian 
Fauna,  and  hence  occurs 
only  in  southern  New  Eng- 
land, as  a  rare  and  perhaps 
casual  summer  visitor.  It 
was  long  ago  accredited  to 
New  Hampshire  by  Belknap 
(Hist.  N.  H.,  iii,  1792,  p. 
173),  and  Audubon  speaks 
of  its  occurrence  in  Nova 
Scotia  (Orn.  Biog.,  v,  p. 
472).  Linsley  enumerates  it 
FIG.  17.— HEAD  OF  TUFTED  TIT-  among  the  birds  of  Connec- 

MOUSE.    (Natural  size.)  .  .   •  T  o    •  v 

ticut   (Am.  Jour.   Sci.,  xhv, 
1843,  p.  255)  ;  on  the  strength  of  which,  as  well  as 


PARUS    ATRICAPILLUS  I    CHICKADEE.  83 

of  its  known  distribution,  it  occurs  in  Dr.  Coues' 
List  as  "  rare  and  perhaps  accidental "  in  New  Eng- 
land (Pr.  Essex  Inst,  v,  1868,  p.  279).  Notwith- 
standing the  evidence,  it  was  expunged  by  Dr.  Brewer, 
with  the  remark,  "I  think  this  bird  has  no  claim  to 
be  included  in  the  Avi-fauna  of  New  England  "  (Pr. 
Bost.  Soc.,  xvii,  1875,  P-  451)*  Mr.  Merriam's  work 
of  1877  refers  to  the  Linsley  and  Belknap  records, 
and  adds  the  positive  information  that  a  specimen  was 
taken  at  Lyme,  Conn.,  Feb.  27,  1872,  by  J.  G.  Ely; 
that  another  was  seen  by  the  same  in  January,  1874  5 
and  that  a  third  individual  was  captured  near  Hart- 
ford, Conn.  (Rev.  B.  Conn.,  p.  9).  Dr.  Brewer  sub- 
sequently restored  the  species  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xix, 
1878,  p.  302). 

There  are  other  instances  of  the  occurrence  of  the 
Tufted  Titmouse  in  the  Carolinian  Fauna  close  to  the 
New  England  border;  as,  near  New  York  (Law- 
rence, Ann.  Lye.  Nat.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  viii,  1866,  p.  283), 
and  at  Riverdale,  N.  Y.  (Bicknell,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club, 
iii,  1878,  p.  129). 

The  breeding  of  the  bird  in  southern  New  England 
is  a  fact  which  may  be  confidently  anticipated. 


BLACK-CAPPED  TITMOUSE ;  CHICKADEE. 
PARUS  ATRICAPILLUS  Z. 

Chars.  Not  crested.  Above,  ashy-gray ;  below,  whitish  ;  wings  and 
tail  like  the  upper  parts,  but  more  or  less  edged  with  hoary ; 
crown  and  throat  black  ;  sides  of  head  more  purely  white  than 
the  under  parts ;  bill  and  feet  plumbeous-black.  Sexes  alike  ; 
young  little  different.  Length,  5.00-5.25  ;  extent,  7.75-8.25 ; 
wing,  2.40-2.60 ;  tail,  2.35-2.65  ;  bill,  0.30  ;  tarsus,  0.70. 


PARIDvE  :    TITMICE. 


A  common  resident  bird  of  New  England,  breeding 
throughout  the  country,  but  in  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, and  Rhode  Island  less  abundant  in  summer 
than  in  winter.  It  appears  to  be  practically  limited 
in  northward  extension  by  the  Canadian  Fauna,  being 
replaced  beyond  by  the  Hudsonian  Chickadee.  The 
general  traits  and  habits  of  these  very  familiar  birds  are 
too  well  known  to  require  notice  here.  They  breed  in 

holes  in  trees,  stumps,  or 
posts,  often  taking  posses- 
sion of  a  deserted  wood- 
pecker's home,  or  excavat- 
ing one  for  themselves  with 
great  pains  and  diligence. 
The  nest  is  constructed 
of  various  soft  vegetable 
and  animal  substances,  as 
grasses,  moss,  hair,  wool, 
and  feathers.  Eggs  are 
laid  to  the  number  of  6  or 
8,  or  even  10,  usually  the 
middle  or  latter  part  of 
May,  and  sometimes  again 
the  last  of  June  or  early  in 
July.  These  are  white, 
finely  speckled,  especially 
about  the  larger  end,  with 

small  pale  reddish  points  and  dots ;  they  measure 
from  0.60  to  0.68  in  length  by  0.49  to  0.54  in  breadth. 
The  usual  breeding  resorts  are  thick  woods,  where  the 
little  creatures  are  to  some  extent  screened  from  casual 
observation,  though  they  appear  at  all  times  to  be  very 
confiding  and  unsuspicious,  heedless  of  the  near  ap- 
proach of  man. 


PARUS    HUDSONICUS  :    HUDSONIAN    TITMOUSE.        85 

One  of  our  best  pictures  of  the  life  of  the  Chick- 
adee is  given  by  Mr.  H.  D.  Minot  (Birds  of  New  Eng- 
land, 1877,  pp.  59-63).  Among  other  agreeable  and 
interesting  facts,  the  writer  instances  the  manner  in 
which  the  little  Titmouse  sleeps.  One  which  had 
taken  possession  of  a  Pewee's  nest,  which  was  fastened 
to  the  corner  pillar  of  a  piazza.  "  having  stared  at  me 
for  a  moment,  tucked  his  head  under  his  wing  and  ap- 
parently leaned  against  the  wall.  I  think  that  he  went 
to  sleep  almost  immediately,  for,  on  my  stepping  from 
the  piazza,  he  started  (as  if  from  sleep)  and  turned  to 
look  at  me ;  but  he  soon  composed  himself  once  more 
to  his  slumbers. "  Mr.  Minot  relates  the  anecdote  to 
controvert  an  assertion  he  had  met  with,  to  the  effect 
that  it  was  ridiculous  to  suppose  that  wild  birds  ever 
put  their  bills  under  their  wings  when  sleeping. 


HUDSONIAN    TITMOUSE. 
PARUS  HUDSONICUS  Forst. 

Chars.  Not  crested.  Above,  pale  olive-brown  ;  below,  whitish,, 
shading  into  light  chestnut-brown  on  the  sides  and  behind; 
crown  browner  than  back ;  throat  blackish-brown  ;  no  hoary 
edgings  of  wings  and  tail.  Length  about  5.00  ;  wing,  2.40  ;  tail, 
2.70  ;  bill,  0.30  ;  tarsus,  0.62. 

As  implied  in  the  name,  the  Hudsonian  Chickadee 
is  a  northerly  species  ;  it  is  resident  in  northern  New 
England,  but  of  rare  or  casual  occurrence  south  of  the 
Canadian  Fauna,  which  limits  its  southward  extension, 
in  the  breeding  season.  In  fact,  it  seems  to  be  nowhere 
in  New  England  a  very  abundant  bird,  its  true  home 
being  Canada,  Labrador,  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  region 


86  PARID^E  :    TITMICE. 

at  large ;  and  it  has  seldom  been  known  to  occur  at 
any  season  south  of  the  Canadian  Fauna. 

Probably  the  earliest  Massachusetts  record  is  that 
given  by  Peabody,  who  states  that  it  was  found  near 
Brookline,  by  S.  E.  Green  (Rep.  Orn.  Mass.,  1839, 
p.  402).  A  late  Massachusetts  instance  has  been  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Brewster,  who  took  a  specimen  at  Con- 
cord, October 30,  1870  (Am.  Nat.,  vi,  1872,  p.  306). 
Mr.  Merriam  records  the  bird  as  accidental  in  Con- 
necticut, with  the  information  that  Mr.  Robert  Morris 
took  a  specimen  near  New  Haven,  November  13,  1875 
(Bull.  Natt.  Club,  i,  No.  2,  July,  1876,  p.  52,  and  B. 
Conn.,  1877,  p.  10).  In  New  Hampshire,  according 
to  Mr.  Maynard  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xiv,  1871,  pub.  1872, 
p.  359),  it  was  found  to  be  quite  common  in  the  heavily 
wooded  mountain  valleys  of  Errol,  where  it  associated 
in  flocks  with  the  Black-capped  Chickadees  during 
the  latter  part  of  October.  Mr.  Maynard  also  observed 
it  at  Albany,  Me.,  Oct.  22,  1869. 

In  Maine,  as  doubtless  also  in  northern  Vermont 
and  New  Hampshire,  the  Hudsonian  Chickadee  is 
resident,  and  breeds.  It  is  so  given  by  Boardman  at 
Calais  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  ix,  1862,  p.  126)  ;  and  Dr. 
Brewer  remarks  that  he  found  it  "  abundant "  at  Mount 
Desert  during  July  and  August  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xix, 
1878,  p.  302).  I  am  under  the  impression,  however, 
that  the  nest  and  eggs  have  yet  to  be  discovered  in 
New  England. 


S.  CAROLINENSIS  I    WHITE-BELLIED  NUTHATCH.       87 


FAMILY  SITTID^E  :  NUTHATCHES. 


WHITE-BELLIED  NUTHATCH. 

SlTTA    CAROLINENSIS   Gm. 

Chars.  Upper  parts,  including  central  tail-feathers  and  much  edging 
of  the  wings,  clear  ashy-blue;  crown  and  nape  glossy  black; 
under  parts,  including  sides  of  head  and  neck,  white,  variegated 
on  the  flanks  and  under  tail-coverts  with  rusty  brown.  Wings 
and  their  coverts  blackish,  with  the  pale  edgings  already  men- 
tioned, the  concealed  bases  of  the  primaries,  and  a  bar  on  their 
outer  webs  near  the  end,  white ;  inner  secondaries  variegated 
with  black  and  bluish.  Tail,  excepting  central  feathers,  black, 
each  feather  marked  with  white  in  increasing  amount.  Female 
and  young  similar,  but  the  coloration  less  pronounced,  the  black 
of  the  head,  in  particular,  being  impure,  defective,  or  entirely 
wanting.  Length,  5.50-6.00  ;  extent,  10.50-11.00;  wing,  3.50- 
3.75  ;  tail,  2.00  ;  bill,  0.60  ;  tarsus,  0.60. 

The  geographical  distribution  of  this  species  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  thoroughly  worked  out,  at  least 
so  far  as  its  northern 
limit  of  dispersion  is 
concerned.  The  name 
does  not  occur  in  any 
of  the  lists  which  Al- 
len gives  of  the  birds 
characterizing  the  sev- 
eral Faunag  of  eastern 
North  America. 

In     New    England 
the  White-bellied  Nuthatch  is  a  common  species  of 
general   distribution,  probably  residing   all  the  year 


FIG.  19. —WHITE- BELLIED  NUTHATCH. 
(Natural  size.) 


88  SITTID^E  I    NUTHATCHES. 

round,  and  breeding  indifferently  in  any  suitable  local- 
ities. Numerous  local  lists  which  I  have  examined 
give  the  bird  as  "  resident,"  Dr.  Brewer  alone  remark- 
ing, not  too  intelligibly,  that  it  is  in  New  England  a 
"summer  resident,  partially  resident."  It  is  certainly, 
however,  found  in  winter,  and  in  some  places  appears 
to  be  more  abundant  at  that  season  than  in  summer. 

The  nidification  is  essentially  similar  to  that  of  the 
Titmice  (Partdte),  the  nest  being  placed  in  excava- 
tions in  trees.  The  eggs  are  also  similar,  being  white, 
more  or  less  thickly  and  uniformly  spotted  with  reddish- 
brown,  but  they  are  larger  than  those  of  the  Chicka- 
dee, measuring  from  0.75  to  0.82  in  length,  by  0.56  to 
0.63  in  breadth.  They  are  laid  late  in  May  or  early 
in  June.  The  food  consists  chiefly  of  various  insects 
and  their  larvae,  which  are  procured  by  means  not 
unlike  that  employed  by  Woodpeckers.  The  note  is 
very  peculiar ;  it  may  be  likened  to  the  quick  pro- 
nunciation of  the  syllables  ick>  ick,  ick^  in  a  hollow, 
guttural  tone. 

RED-BELLIED  NUTHATCH. 

SlTTA   CANADENSIS  Z. 

Chars.  Above,  clear  ashy-blue,  brighter  than  in  S.  carolinensis ; 
central  tail-feathers  the  same.  Under  parts  reddish-brown  (very 
variable  in  purity  and  intensity).  Crown  glossy  black,  separated 
by  a  white  supraciliary  line  from  a  broad  bar  of  black  through 
the  eye  from  the  bill  to  the  nape.  Tail,  excepting  the  middle 
feathers,  black,  the  lateral  feathers  marked  with  white.  Wings 
dusky,  with  slight  ashy  edgings  and  concealed  white  bases  of  the 
primaries.  Female  and  young  with  the  black  on  the  head  defective 
or  wanting.  Length,  4.50-4.75  ;  extent,  8.00-8.50  ;  wing,  2.60- 
2.70  ;  tail,  1.50  ;  bill,  0.50  ;  tarsus,  0.60. 


S.  CANADENSIS  I    RED-BELLIED   NUTHATCH.          89 

Dr.  T.  M.  Brewer  has  very  erroneously  indicated 
the  manner  and  character  of  the  presence  of  this  bird 
in  New  England,  in  stating  that  it  is  migratory  in 
southern,  and  a  summer  resident  in  northern,  portions. 
The  bird  is  a  resident  throughout  the  year  in  the  Cana- 
dian Fauna,  where  it  breeds ;  it  is  a  migrant,  and 
also  a  winter  resident,  in  the  Alleghanian  and  Caro- 
linian. On  the  whole,  it  is  rather  a  more  northerly 
species  than  the  White-bellied,  the  alleged  instance  of 
its  breeding  in  Massachusetts  having  proved  to  be 
erroneous  (Am.  Nat.,  xi,  1877,  p.  565  ;  see  xii,  1878, 
p.  397).  From  its  breeding  grounds  in  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont,  and 
still  farther  north,  it  enters 
the  nether  New  England 
States  early  in  October ; 
many  pass  southward,  but 
numbers  remain  until  the 

,  -.      ,  -  ..         .  FIG  20.  —  HEAD  OF  RED- BELLIED 

latter     part     Of    the     following  NUTHATCH.   (Nat.  size.) 

April.  It  is  a  rather  com- 
mon, at  least  not  a  rare  bird,  both  in  its  summer  and 
winter  resorts ;  and  is  still  more  numerous  during  the 
migrations.  Such  appears  to  be  the  usual  distribution 
of  the  species  in  New  England.  I  have  no  doubt, 
however,  that  the  bird  actually  breeds  at  times  in 
Massachusetts.  About  the  middle  of  August,  1874, 
I  found  young  birds  on  Cutty  Hunk  Island,  in  Buz- 
zard's Bay,  near  New  Bedford ;  and  Mr.  Hitchcock, 
of  Ware,  Mass.,  records  it  as  breeding  at  that  place. 
A  good  account  of  its  nidification  in  Maine  has  been 
given  by  Mr.  Hardy  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iii,  1878,  p. 
196).  The  nest,  eggs,  and  breeding  habits  are  very 
similar  to  those  of  the  White-bellied  Nuthatch. 


CERTHIID^E  I    CREEPERS. 


FAMILY  CERTHIID^e  :  CREEPERS. 


BROWN  CREEPER. 
CERTHIA   FAMILIARIS  Z-. 

Chars.  Upper  parts,  including  sides  of  head  and  neck,  dark  brown, 
changing  to  rich  rusty  brown  on  the  rump,  everywhere  streaked 
with  whitish  ;  an  obscure  supraciliary  line  of  the  same.  Under 
parts  dull  white,  sometimes  tinged  with  rusty  on  the  flanks  and 
crissum.  Wing-coverts  and  the  larger  feathers  tipped  with  white, 
and  the  inner  secondaries  with  white  shaft-lines,  these  light  mark- 
ings contrasting  with  the  blackish  of  the  outer  webs  ;  wings  also 
crossed  with  two  white  or  tawny-white  bars,  the  broad  anterior 
one  of  which  occupies  both  webs  of  the  feathers,  the  other  being 
restricted  to  the  outer  webs  near  their  ends.  Tail  grayish-brown, 
more  or  less  variegated  with  darker.  Bill  blackish  above,  mostly 
flesh-colored  below  ;  feet  brown.  Sexes  alike.  Length,  5.25- 
5.75  ;  extent,  7.50-8.00  ;  wing  about  2.50 ;  tail  very  variable, 
ranging  from  2.50  to  2.90,  usually  about  as  long  as  the  wing. 

The   Brown  Creeper   is  resident   throughout  New 

England,  and  a  com- 
mon bird  in  all  suit- 
able localities.  Its 
breeding  range  has 
been  supposed  to  be 
restricted  by  Massa- 
chusetts in  its  south- 

FIG.  21.  —  HEAD,  FOOT,  AND  TAIL-FEATHER  OP     Ward    extension,    but 
BROWN  CREEPER.    (Natural  size.)  such  is  not  the  CaSC. 

There  is,   however,   a  certain   migratory  movement, 
which  causes  the  bird  to  be  more  abundant  in  north- 


CERTHIA   FAMILIARIS  :    BROWN    CREEPER.  pi 

ern  New  England  in  summer,  and  to  breed  chiefly 
in  the  Canadian  Fauna,  while  it  is  oftenest  observed 
in  southern  New  England  in  winter,  spring,  and  fall, 
being  especially  numerous  there  during  the  migra- 
tions. Its  true  home  is  the  woods ;  but  the  sly  little 
bird  is  often  observed  in  our  orchards,  parks,  and 
even  streets,  winding  its  spiral  way  up  the  trunks  of 
large  shade  and  fruit  trees.  Not  possessing  in  its 
delicate  bill  an  instrument  powerful  enough  to  bore 
wood,  it  is  nevertheless  an  indefatigable  hunter  and 
destroyer  of  the  many  minute  insects  which  lurk  in 
the  cracks  of  bark,  and  is  thus  of  great  service  to 
man. 

The  Creeper  was  formerly  supposed  to  breed  in 
holes,  like  the  Nuthatch  and  Chickadee;  but  recent 
observations,  particularly  those  of  Mr.  Wm.  Brewster, 
show  that  the  nest  is  usually  placed  in  a  rift  or  crevice 
between  the  bark  of  a  tree  and  the  main  wood.  Mr. 
Minot  describes  a  nest  that  was  built  in  the  cavity  of  a 
tree  riven  by  lightning,  a  few  feet  from  the  ground,  in 
the  vicinity  of  Boston ;  and  another,  found  in  an  elm 
in  Springfield,  about  ten  feet  from  the  ground,  behind 
a  strip  of  projecting  bark  —  the  usual  style,  as  just 
intimated.  A  nest  noticed  by  Dr.  Brewer,  found  in 
Taunton  May  27,  1878,  was  likewise  built  between 
the  bark  and  the  wood  of  a  large  pitch-pine  (Bull. 
Nuttall  Club,  iv,  1879,  P-  87)-  Mr-  Brewster,  who 
closely  studied  the  nidification  and  other  breeding 
habits  of  the  Creeper  in  the  pine  woods  of  Maine,  has 
given  us  the  best  paper  by  far  we  possess  upon  this 
subject  (Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  iv,  1879,  PP-  199-209), 
fully  describing  the  curious  position  of  the  nest,  and 
giving  other  particulars  of  interest.  He  found  fresh 


92  CERTHIID^E  :    CREEPERS. 

eggs  so  late  as  the  23d  of  June.  The  eggs  are  from 
5  to  8  in  number,  measuring  0.55  to  0.60  in  length  by 
0.45  to  0.50  in  breadth ;  they  are  dull  white,  finely 
dotted  with  reddish-brown,  with  or  without  a  few 
larger  and  paler  spots,  especially  about  the  greater 
end.  The  difference  in  the  times  when  fresh  eggs 
have  been  found  leads  to  the  inference  that  two  broods 
may  be  reared  annually. 

As  Mr.  Brewster  says  (/.  £.),  "the  following  con- 
cise record  of  all  the  nests  taken  during  the  season  of 
1879  w*^  illustrate  the  somewhat  variable  times  at 
which  the  different  sets  of  eggs  were  deposited :  May 
31,  nest  with  set  of  six  eggs,  incubation  about  five 
days:  June  5,  nest  with  six  eggs,  incubation  about 
six  days ;  June  14,  nest  with  five  young,  which  were 
perhaps  a  week  old ;  June  19,  nest  with  four  fresh 
eggs,  —  a  complete  set,  as  the  bird  laid  no  additional 
ones,  though  left  unmolested  for  two  days  longer. 
This  clutch  may  possibly  have  been  a  second  laying 
by  the  pair  robbed  on  May  31,  as  the  site  was  only  a 
few  hundred  yards  distant.  June  23,  nest  with  four 
fresh  eggs,  locality  several  miles  away  from  that  of 
any  of  the  preceding." 


THRYOTHORUS    LUDOVICIANUS  :    CAROLINA  WREN.    93 


FAMILY  TROGLODYTID^:  :  WRENS. 


GREAT  CAROLINA  WREN. 
THRYOTHORUS  LUDOVICIANUS   (Lath.) 

Chars.  Tail  not  longer  than  wings,  all  its  feathers  reddish-brown 
with  numerous  fine  black  bars.  Above,  clear  reddish-brown, 
slightly  grayer  on  head,  brightest  on  rump  ;  below,  tawny  of 
varying  shade  ;  a  long,  conspicuous  white  or  tawny  supraciliary 
line  ;  wings  edged  with  the  color  of  the  back,  and  dusky-waved  ; 
wing-coverts  usually  whitish-spotted  ;  under  tail-coverts  usually  ' 
blackish-barred  ;  sides  of  body  unmarked.  Length  5.50  to  nearly 
6.00  ;  wing,  2.33  ;  tail  rather  less. 

[An  inhabitant  of  all  the  Carolinian  Fauna,  and 
therefore  necessarily  a  'summer  visitor  in  New  Eng- 
land, where  it  occurs  but  rarely,  and  only  as  far  north 
as  Massachusetts.  In  1868  I  spoke  of  this  bird  as 
one  which  might  occur  in  southern  New  England, 
basing  this  inference  upon  the  known  fact  of  its  pres- 
ence near  New  York  city,  as  attested  by  Mr.  G.  N. 
Lawrence.  Mr.  H.  D.  Minot  lately  said  that  two  indi- 
viduals were  apparently  passing  the  summer  in  a  small 
wooded  swamp  near  Boston  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  i,  1876, 
p.  76).  Dr.  Brewer  shortly  afterward  recorded  the 
capture  of  a  specimen  by  Mr.  G.  O.  Welch  at  Lynn, 
Mass.,  July  6,  1878  (Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  iii,  1878,  p. 
193;  Proc.  Bost.  Soc.,  xx,  1880,  p.  265)  ;  giving  us 
not  only  the  first  instance  of  the  actual  taking  of  a 
New  England  example,  but  also  a  sneer  at  Mr.  Minot 
and  myself.  Mr.  H.  A.  Purdie  subsequently  mentioned 
the  capture  of  another  at  Saybrook,  Conn.,  by  Mr.  J. 


94 


TROGLODYTID^E  I    WRENS. 


H.  Clarke,  Nov.  15,  1878.  There  are  also  several 
records  of  the  presence  of  the  species  close  by  the 
New  England  border :  as  Mr.  Lawrence's,  already 

alluded  to  (Am. 
Lye.  N.  Y.,  viii, 
1866,  p.  293) ; 
Mr.  E.  P.  Bick- 
nell's  (at  River- 
dale,  N.Y.,  Bull. 
Nuttall  Club,  itt, 
1878,  p.  128) ; 
and  especially 
Mr.  R.  Deane's 
(Bull.  Nuttall 
Club,  iv,  1879, 
p.  184).  The 
latter  instance, 
given  on  the  au- 
thority of  Mr. 
Robert  Law- 
rence, attests  the 
breeding  of  the 
bird  at  Flushing,  Long  Island,  where  a  female  was 
taken  on  the  8th  of  May,  1879,  and  a  male,  with  a 
brood  of  four  young  ones  just  able  to  fly,  were  ob- 
served next  day.  It  would  thus  appear  to  be  placed 
beyond  reasonable  question,  that  the  Great  Carolina 
Wren's  breeding  range  reaches  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  to  the  full  extent  of  the  Carolinian  Fauna.  I 
cannot  deny  that  satisfaction  comes  from  thus  succes- 
sively laying  the  ghosts  of  the  thirty  exceptions  taken 
by  Dr.  Brewer  to  the  manner  and  character  of  my  list 
of  1868.  —  C1.] 


FIG.  22.  — GREAT  CAROLINA  WREN.    (Nearly 
natural  size.) 


TROGLODYTES    DOMESTICUS  :    HOUSE    WRP3N.         95 

HOUSE  WREN. 
TROGLODYTES  DOMESTICUS  (Bartr.)  Coues. 

Chars.  Above,  brown,  darker  or  grayer  on  the  head,  brighter  on 
the  rump  and  upper  tail-coverts.  Below,  dull  whitish,  clearest  on 
the  abdomen,  obscurely  variegated  with  irregular  dark  markings 
which  become  bars  on  the  flanks  and  crissum.  Wings,  tail, 
rump,  and  often  the  back,  closely  waved  with  dusky  lines.  An 
obscure  whitish  supraciliary  line  and  edge  of  eyelids.  Bill  black- 
ish above,  pale  below  ;  feet  brownish.  Length,  4.75-5.25  ;  extent, 
6.75  ;  wing,  2.00-2.10  ;  tail,  1.90  ;  bill,  0.50  ;  tarsus,  0.60. 

Note.  The  Wood  Wren  (T.  americanus  Aud.)  is  not  specifically 
distinct  from  the  House  Wren. 

This  sprightly  and  vivacious  tenant  of  the  shrubbery 
about  the  homestead,  whose  richly-trilled  song  is 
familiar  to  every  ear,  is  in  New  England  a  summer 
resident,  arriving  from  the  south  about  the  end  of 
April,  and  remaining  through  October.  It  becomes 
generally  distributed  in  two  or  three  weeks  after  its- 
first  appearance  in  the  Carolinian  Fauna,  and  begins 
to  withdraw  from  its  more  northerly  breeding  grounds 
late  in  September,  though  its  final  retreat  from  our 
borders  is  only  accomplished  in  the  course  of  the  fol- 
lowing month.  The  House  Wren  is  practically,  or 
chiefly,  restricted  in  its  northward  dispersion  by  the 
Alieghanian  Fauna,  and  is  hence  rarely  if  ever  found 
in  northern  New  England.  Apart  from  its  general 
geographical  distribution,  it  affects  particular  localities, 
where  it  may  be  very  abundant,  without  obvious^ 
reason,  while  it  is  no  less  unaccountably  rare  in  other 
places  apparently  as  eligible ;  the  local  distribution  is 
thus  fortuitous,  and  may  moreover  differ  with  succes- 
sive years. 


96  TROGLODYTID^  :    WRENS. 

Like  others  of  its  family,  the  House  Wren  is  a  hole- 
breeder  ;  its  nidification  is  very  Various,  dependent 
upon  its  entourage  ;  but  in  cultivated  and  well-popu- 
lated regions  the  pert  and  fearless  little  creature 
usually  nests  near  man's  dwelling,  almost  any  odd 
nook  about  a  building  seeming  to  answer  its  purpose 
perfectly  well.  There  is  no  established  w  order  of 
architecture  "  in  this  case,  and  an  enormous  quantity 
of  trash  is  often  laboriously  lugged  into  the  chosen 
recess  by  the  indefatigable  birds.  The  eggs,  of  which 
there  may  be  more  than  one  set  in  a  season,  are  from 
6  to  9  in  number,  measuring  from  0.58  to  0.64  in 
length  by  0.48  to  0.52  in  breadth;  they  are  pinkish- 
white,  very  closely  dotted  all  over  with  reddish  brown  ; 
the  markings,  however,  varying  so  much  as  to  give  dif- 
ferent sets  a  very  different  general  cast  of  color.  The 
first  set  is  laid  late  in  May,  and  another  may  be  pro- 
duced in  five  or  six  weeks ;  for  it  does  not  take  long 
for  these  smart  little  birds  to  demonstrate  their  ability 
to  start  a  family  and  keep  it  up.  The  food  of  the  House 
Wren  consists  almost  entirely  of  small  insects  and 
their  larvae,  such  as  lurk  about  out-houses  and  in 
shrubbery.  Aside  from  its  nuptial  song,  so  melo- 
diously and  heartily  trilled,  the  bird  shares  with  other 
Wrens  the  harsh  chattering  notes  characteristic  of 
this  family,  and  invariably  uttered  when  the  cat  or 
any  other  enemy  threatens  the  peace  of  the  community. 
So  successful  is  the  little  creature  in  defending  its  home, 
that  puss  not  seldom  saves  her  credit  by  giving  up  her 
evil  designs  ;  when  victory,  in  the  shape  of  a  tiny  brown 
bird,  perches  on  the  nearest  spray,  and  rings  out  the 
result  with  renewed  enthusiasm. 


A.   TROGLODYTES    HIEMALIS  :    WINTER    WREN.      97 

WINTER  WREN. 
ANORTHURA  TROGLODYTES  HIEMALIS  (  F.)  Coues. 

Chars.  Deep  brown,  darkest  on  head,  brightest  on  rump  and  tail, 
obscurely  waved  with  dusky,  and  sometimes  with  whitish  also ; 
tail  like  rump ;  wings  dusky,  edged  with  color  of  back,  and  dark- 
barred  ;  several  of  the  outer  primaries  also  whitish-barred ;  a 
supraciliary  line,  and  obscure  streaks  on  sides  of  head  and  neck, 
whitish.  Below,  pale  brown  ;  belly,  flanks,  and  under  tail-coverts, 
strongly  barred  with  dusky  and  whitish.  Length,  4.00-4.15  ;  ex- 
tent, 6.00-6.50 ;  wing,  1.65-1.75;  tail,  1.25;  bill,  0.40-0.50;  tar- 
sus, 0.72. 

A  species  characteristic  of  the  Canadian  Fauna, 
which  limits  its  normal  southward  distribution  in  the 
breeding  sea- 
son ;  it  is  hence 
a  summer  resi- 
dent in  north- 
ern New  Eng- 
land. Massa- 
chusetts is  ap- 
parently an 
intermediate 

FIG.  23.  —WINTER  WREN.    (Nearly  natural  size.) 

which  it  mi- 
grates in  spring  and  fall ;  and  where,  so  far  as  I 
know,  it  does  not  summer,  and  but  rarely  winters. 
In  Connecticut,  however,  it  is  a  rather  common  winter 
resident.  While  the  general  habits  of  the  bird  are 
much  like  those  of  the  House  Wren,  the  pleasing  song 
it  utters  during  the  breeding  season  is  entirely  differ- 
ent, and  the  nidification  is  not  the  same.  The  Winter 
Wren  is  a  shyer  and  more  retiring  bird,  and  compara- 
7 


9  TROGLODYTID^E  :    WRENS. 

lively  few  of  its  nests  have  come  to  the  notice  of  natu- 
ralists. "Five  eggs,  not  quite  fresh,  which  I  took 
from  a  nest  on  the  White  Mountains  on  the  23d  of  July 
(probably  those  of  a  second  set),  were  pure  crystal- 
.white,  thinly  and  minutely  speckled  with  bright  reddish- 
brown,  and  averaging  about  -7OX.55  of  an  inch.  The 
nest,  thickly  lined  with  feathers  of  the  Ruffed  Grouse, 
was  in  a  low  moss-covered  stump,  about  a  foot  high,  in 
a  dark  swampy  forest,  filled  with  tangled  piles  of  fallen 
trees  and  branches.  The  entrance  to  the  nest,  on  one 
side,  was  very  narrow,  its  cjiameter  being  less  than  an 
inch,  and  was  covered  with  an  overhanging  bit  of 
moss,  which  the  bird  was  obliged  to  push  up  on  going 
in"  (Minot,  B.  N.  E.,  1877,  p.  72).  A  nest  described 
by  Dr.  Brewer  was  built  in  a  crevice  of  an  occupied 
log-hut,  among  fir-leaves  and  mosses ;  it  contained  six 
eggs,  measuring  0.65  by  0.48,  spotted  with  bright  red- 
dish-brown and  a  few  pale  purplish  markings,  on  a 
pure  white  ground.  Mr.  Ruthven  Deane  describes 
three  nests  from  Houlton,  Maine,  in  one  of  which 
there  were  six  young  early  in  June,  and  in  another 
four  eggs  on  August  8th  (Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  iv,  1879, 
p.  37).  The  last  was  a  beautiful  piece  of  bird-archi- 
tecture, composed  mainly  of  compact  green  moss,  with 
which  a  few  hemlock  twigs  were  interwoven,  and  lined 
thickly  with  feathers  of  the  Canada  Grouse,  Blue  Jay, 
and  other  birds.  All  three  were  found  in  similar  situ- 
ations, in  the  debris  about  fallen  trees.  The  Winter 
Wren  appears  to  be  more  abundant  on  its  breeding 
grounds  in  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  than  elsewhere 
in  New  England  at  any  other  season  :  see,  for  exam- 
ple, Mr.  Maynard's  notice  in  Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xiv,  for 
October,  1871,  p.  360. 


T.    PALUSTRIS  :    LONG-BILLED    MARSH    WREN.       99 

LONG-BILLED   MARSH   WREN. 
TELMATODYTES  PALUSTRIS  (Bartr.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Above,  clear  brown,  unbarred,  the  middle  of  the  back  black- 
ish, streaked  sharply  with  white ;  crown  of  head  usually  dark, 
often  quite  blackish,  with  a  dull  whitish  supraciliary  line.  Below, 
white  or  whitish,  especially  on  central  parts,  but  shaded  with 
brown  on  the  sides,  flanks,  and  crissum.  Tail  like  the  back, 
evenly  barred  with  dusky ;  wings  dusky,  the  inner  secondaries 
often  barred  or  scolloped  with  pale  brown.  Bill  blackish  above, 
pale  below  ;  feet  brown.  Length,  about  5.00  ;  extent,  6.50  ;  wing, 
1.75-2.00  ;  tail  about  the  same  ;  bill,  0.50,  or  rather  more  ;  tarsus, 
0.65-0.75.  There  is  much  difference  in  coloration,  independently 
of  age  or  sex. 

Though  this  Wren  is  of  very  general  distribution  in 
North  America,  sometimes  proceeding  even  so  far  north 
as  Greenland,  it  appears 
to  be  unknown  in  north- 
ern New  England,  not 
being  given  in  any  of  the 
Maine  and  New  Hamp- 
shire lists  which  I  have 
consulted.  In  Massachu- 
setts and  southward  it  is 

a    Common    Summer     resi-      FIG.  24.  — LONG-BILLED  MARSH  WREN. 
j        .      i       ,    .       ,i  /.  (Natural  size.) 

dent,  but  in  the  nature  of 

the  case  is  very  locally  distributed,  being  confined  to 
swampy  tracts  in  the  interior,  and  to  the  brackish  or 
salt  marshes  along  the  coast-line.  In  such  places, 
which  alone  seem  to  answer  the  requirements  of  its 
nature,  this  Wren  is  found  nesting  in  colonies  of 
greater  or  less  extent,  fastening  a  large  globular  nest 
to  the  swaying  reeds.  This  structure,  very  conspic- 


100  TROGLODYTID^E  :    WRENS. 

uous  by  its  bulk  and  its  exposed  position,  is  built 
of  coarse  grasses  and  reed-tops  loosely  intertwined, 
sometimes  plastered  with  mud,  and  securely  attached 
to  its  upright  swaying  supports,  some  of  which  pass 
through  its  substance ;  is  lined  with  fine  soft  grasses, 
and  has  a  hole  on  one  side,  sometimes  nearer  the 
bottom  than  the  top.  The  eggs,  to  the  number  of  6 
to  10,  are  remarkably  dark-colored,  being  usually  so 
thickly  dotted  with  chocolate-brown  as  to  appear  al- 
most uniformly  of  this  color ;  but  there  is  great  vari- 
ation in  this  respect ;  they  average  about  0.58  by 
0.45  of  an  inch  in  size.  The  Marsh  Wrens  reach 
New  England  in  May,  and  leave  in  September ;  but 
their  movements  are  so  secret  that  precise  dates  of 
arrival  and  departure  are  not  easily  determined.  In 
fact,  the  birds  are  not  often  noticed  excepting  when 
they  are  colonized  for  the  summer  in  their  favorite 
marshes,  when  their  curious  posturing,  brusque  deport- 
ment, and  gay  rollicking  song,  attract  the  attention  of 
the  most  casual  observer  who  may  chance  to  penetrate 
their  reedy  demesne. 


SHORT-BILLED   MARSH   WREN. 

o 

ClSTOTHORUS    STELLARIS   (Lickt.)    Cab.  . 

5 

Chars.  Above,  brown,  the  crown  and  most  of  the  back  blackish, 
sharply  and  conspicuously  streaked  with  white  throughout.  Be- 
low, whitish,  shaded  with  clear  brown  across  the  breast  and 
along  the  sides,  and  especially  on  the  flanks  and  crissum,  which 
are  often  also  obsoletely  barred  with  dusky.  A  whitish  supra- 
ciliary  line.  Wings  and  tail  as  in  the  last  species.  Bill  blackish 
above,  pale  below,  extremely  small  and  short,  being  scarcely  half 
as  long  as  the  head.  Length,  4.50  ;  extent,  6.00  ;  wing  and  tail, 
each,  about  1.75  ;  tarsus,  0.70  ;  bill  from  0.35  to  0.40. 


C.    STELLARIS  :    SHORT-BILLED    MARSH    WREN.      IOI 

So  far  as  New  England  is  concerned,  the  geographi- 
cal distribution  of  the  Short-billed  Marsh  Wren  is  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  that  of  the  foregoing  species,  its 
near  relative.  It  was  described  as  Troglodytes  brevi- 
rostris  by  Nuttall  in  1831,  upon  specimens  taken  in 
Massachusetts,  which  appears  to  be  its  normal  north- 
ern limit,  as  it  is  not  recorded  in  New  Hampshire  and 
Maine  catalogues.  Though  less  abundant  than  the 
Long-billed  is  in  its  favorite 
resorts,  it  is  at  the  same  time 
rather  more  evenly  distrib- 
uted ;  being  not  strictly  con- 
fined to  reedy  spots,  it  may  be 
seen  in  low  moist  meadows ; 
the  bird  is,  nevertheless,  one 

Of    Somewhat    irregular    local        FIG.  25.  — SHORT-BILLED  MARSH 

distribution.     Its  movements  WREN-   (Natural  size° 

appear  to  correspond  in  time  closely  to  those  of  the 
Long-billed,  and  the  nidification  of  the  two  is  essen- 
tially similar ;  but  no  mud  is  used  in  the  construction 
of  the  nest,  and  this  may  be  placed  low  down  in  a  tus- 
sock of  grass  instead  of  hanging  to  swaying  rushes. 
The  eggs  are  entirely  different,  being  pure  white,  un- 
marked. They  number  6  to  8,  measuring  about  0.54 
in  length  by  0.44  in  breadth,  and  are  laid  early  in  June. 
It  is  singular  that  there  should  be  such  a  difference  in 
the  eggs  of  the  two  species  of  Marsh  Wrens,  the  birds 
themselves  being  so  closely  related.  The  case  is  one 
of  the  few  in  which  oological  considerations  are  of 
consequence  in  helping  to  establish  generic  and  even 
specific  characters. 


IO2  ALAUDID^E  :    LARKS, 


FAMILY  ALAUDID^:  LARKS. 

SHORE    LARK;    HORNED    LARK. 
EREMOPHILA  ALPESTRIS  (L.)  Boie. 

Chars.  Adult  male  or  female,  in  breeding  dress :  Above,  brown, 
tinged  with  pinkish,  this  peculiar  tint  brightest  on  the  nape,  lesser 
wing-coverts,  and  tail-coverts,  the  rest  of  the  upper  parts  more 
grayish,  variegated  with  dusky  centres  of  the  feathers.  Below, 
white,  shaded  on  the  sides  with  the  color  of  the  back,  and  ante- 
riorly more  or  less  tinged  with  sulphur-yellow.  A  large  black  area 
on  the  breast.  Sides  of  head  and  whole  throat  white  or  sulphury- 
yellow,  with  a  crescentic  mark  of  black  below  each  eye,  and  a 
black  bar  across  the  forehead  and  thence  along  the  side  of  the 
crown,  prolonged  into  a  tuft  or  "  horn."  Middle  tail-feathers 
like  the  back ;  the  rest  black,  the  outer  web  of  the  outer  pair 
whitish.  Bill  blackish,  livid  blue  at  base  below ;  feet  black ; 
iris  brown.  In  winter,  as  commonly  observed  in  the  Eastern 
States,  there  is  less  of  the  pinkish  tinge,  though  the  sulphury- 
yellow  may  be  very  conspicuous  ;  the  black  markings  about  the 
head  and  on  the  breast  are  obscure  or  wanting,  the  whole  col- 
oration being  thus  much  simpler.  Length  of  male,  7.00-7.50 ; 
extent.  13.00-14.00;  wing,  4.25-4.50;  tail,  2.75-3.00;  bill,  0.40- 
0.50;  tarsus,  0.75-0.90 ;  female  commonly  smaller. 

Though  the  Shore  Lark  has  been  seen  in  New  Eng- 
land in  summer,  there  is  no  satisfactory  evidence  as 
yet  that  it  breeds  within  our  limits.  It  occurs  irregu- 
larly during  the  migrations  and  in  winter,  from  Octo- 
ber to  April,  nearly  always  in  flocks  of  greater  or  less 
extent,  and  is  especially  numerous  coastwise.  While 
with  us,  it  only  frequents  open  waste  places,  and  is 
therefore  restricted  in  its  local  distribution.  It  is  a 


EREMOPHILA   ALPESTRIS  :    SHORE    LARK.          IO3 

common  bird  during  the  part  of  the  year  above  men- 
tioned, and  sometimes  very  abundant,  but  its  appear- 
ance cannot  be  relied  upon.  Occasionally  it  gathers 
in  flocks  of  great  extent  in  the  fields  of  winter-rye 
along  the  sea-shore,  where  its  wild,  wayward  flight, 
and  the  quick  alarum  of  its  shrill  voice,  bring  it  prom- 
inently to  notice. 

[The  Shore  Lark  is  essentially  a  terrestrial  bird  of 
plain  and  prairie,  seldom  alighting  anywhere  except 
upon  the  ground,  where 
it  runs  with  the  greatest 
ease,  and  where  its  nest 
is  placed.  In  most  of 
the  United  States,  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  it  is 
only  a  winter  visitant, 
as  in  New  England.  It 
breeds,  however,  in  the 
northern  tier  of  States 
as  far  east  as  New  York,  FlG-  26-~ SHORE  LARK-  (Natural  size.) 
and  very  abundantly  in  Labrador  and  Newfoundland ; 
being  therefore  likely  to  be  taken  in  the  same  act  along 
the  northern  border  of  Maine.  The  nest  will  be  found 
on  the  ground,  in  a  slight  depression,  lined  with  a 
few  grasses ;  the  eggs,  four  or  five  in  number,  meas- 
uring about  0.90X0.65,  grayish-white  in  ground-color, 
very  variously  but  always  thoroughly  marked  with 
brownish  and  purplish  spots.  The  bird  is  an  early 
breeder,  laying  the  first  set  of  eggs  in  April,  some- 
times before  the  snow  is  gone,  and  raising  usually 
more  than  one  brood ;  for  I  have  found  eggs  in  July, 
when  plenty  of  young  birds  had  long  been  on  the 
wing.  — C.~] 


104  MOTACILLID^E  :    WAGTAILS. 


FAMILY  MOTACILLID^E  :  WAGTAILS. 

AMERICAN  PIPIT,   OR  TITLARK. 
ANTHUS  LUDOVICIANUS  Licht. 

Chars.  Above,  olive-brown,  most  of  the  feathers  with  dusky  centres. 
Wings  blackish-brown,  the  quills  and  coverts  edged  with  pale 
brown.  Tail  blackish,  the  middle  feathers  like  the  back,  the  two 
or  three  outer  ones  largely  or  partly  white.  Line  over  and  ring 
around  eye,  and  whole  under  parts  brownish-white,  or  buffy- 
brown,  very  variable  in  shade,  the  breast  and  sides  of  the  body 
and  the  sides  of  the  throat  spotted  with  the  color  of  the  back. 
Bill  blackish,  pale  at  base  below  ;  feet  brown.  Length,  6. 2 5-7.00  ; 
extent,  10.25-11.00;  wing,  3.25-3.50;  tail,  2.75-3.00;  bill  about 
0.50  ;  tarsus,  o  90. 

The  manner  of  the  Titlark's  presence  in  New  Eng- 
land is  similar  to  that  of  the  Shore  Lark,  though  these 
^^  two  birds  are  not  very  closely  re- 
lated. It  has  never  been  known 
to  breed  in  New  England,  and 
has  very  seldom  been  seen  there 
in  summer.  An  instance  of  its  oc- 
currence at  that  season,  however, 
has  been  given  by  Dr.  Brewer,  who 
states  that  Mr.  W.  A.  Jeffries  found 
it  on  the  8th  of  June  on  an  island 
FIG.  27. -HEAD  AND  FOOT  off  Swampscott,  Mass.,  and  also 

OF  PIPIT.     (Nat.  size.)  .  . 

adds    that  it   was  suspected  to  be 
about  to  breed  there.  [*]     The   species  is  one  whose 

[*  See  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  1876,  p.  194. — There  is  no  doubt  in 
my  own  mind  that  the  Titlark,  like  the  Eremophila,  will  jet  be 
ascertained  to  breed  occasionally  along  the  coast  of  Maine.  —  C.] 


ANTHUS    LUDOVICIANUS  :    AMERICAN    PIPIT. 

southward  range  in  the  breeding  season  is  given  by 
Allen  as  limited  by  the  Hudsonian  Fauna.  It  is  a 
rather  abundant  bird  in  New  England  during  the  mi- 
grations in  spring  and  fall,  especially  along  the  coast, 
which  seems  to  be  its  principal  course ;  but  it  also 
winters  at  least  as  far  north  as  Massachusetts.  At  that 
season  it  is  found  in  loose,  straggling  flocks,  sometimes 
numbering  hundreds  of  individuals,  roaming  irregular- 
ly over  open  parts  of  the  country,  particularly  in  mari- 
time localities.  Its  habits  under  such  circumstances 
are  much  like  those  of  the  Shore  Lark,  though  its 
voice,  flight,  and  general  appearance  are  entirely  dif- 
ferent. It  has  a  weak,  piping  note,  according  with  the 
vacillating  disposition  which  its  tremulous  and  devious 
flight  seems  to  indicate ;  and  has  the  characteristic 
habit  which  has  given  to  the  whole  family  the  names 
"  Wag-tail "  or  "  Motacilla. 

The  bird  breeds  abundantly  along  the  coast  of  Lab- 
rador, and  in  other  parts  of  the  Hudsonian  Fauna. 
The  nest  and  eggs,  found  in  that  country  by  Dr.  Coues, 
are  described  by  him  in  the  following  terms  :  "  It  was 
placed  on  the  side  of  a  steep,  precipitous  chasm  in  a 
cavity  of  the  earth  of  about  the  size  of  a  child's  head, 
in  which  a  little  dry  moss  had  been  previously  intro- 
duced to  keep  the  nest  from  the  damp  earth.  It  was 
composed  entirely  of  rather  coarse  dry  grasses,  very 
loosely  put  together,  with  no  lining  of  any  sort.  The 
external  diameter  was  about  6  inches  ;  the  internal  3, 
the  depth  2.  The  eggs  were  in  one  instance  5,  in 
another  4  ;  their  average  length,  for  they  varied  some- 
what, was  13-16  of  an  inch  by  9^-16  in  greatest  diam- 
eter ;  of  a  dark  chocolate  color,  indistinctly  marked 
with  numerous  small  lines  and  streaks  of  black." 


106  SYLVICOLID^E  I    AMERICAN   WARBLERS. 


FAMILY  SYLVICOLID^E  :  AMERICAN 
WARBLERS. 


BLACK-AND-WHITE   CREEPING  WARBLER. 
MNIOTILTA  VARIA  (Z.)   V. 

Chars.  Entirely  black  and  white  ;  above  black,  streaked  through- 
out with  white  ;  below  white,  the  breast  and  sides  streaked  with 
black.  Crown  and  sides  of  head  black,  with  median  and  two 
lateral  white  stripes.  Wings  and  tail  black  ;  the  former  with  two 
white  cross-bars,  and  much  edging  of  the  feathers,  the  latter  hav- 
ing several  outer  feathers  marked  with  white.  In  the  female,  the 
black  streaks  of  the  under  parts  are  obsolete.  Bill  mostly  black  ; 
feet  black.  Length,  5.30  ;  extent,  8.00  ;  wing,  2.80  ;  tail,  2.20  ; 
bill,  0.45  ;  tarsus,  0.60. 

This  interesting  bird  is  a  summer  visitor  to  New 
England,  of  common  occurrence  in  wooded  regions, 
and  especially  abundant  during  the  migrations.  It  is 

rather  more  numerous  in  south- 
ern than  in  northern  New  Eng- 
land, as  it  stays  to  breed  any- 
where in  suitable  localities  on 
its  way  north,  and  only  a  cer- 
tain proportion  of  the  total  num- 
ber of  individuals  reach  the  ex- 
treme limit  of  the  distribution 

FIG.  28.  -BLACK-AND-WHITE  Qf  the  species.  The  bird  enters 
CREEPING  WARBLER.  (Natural  size.) 

New  England  late  in   April ; 

becomes  numerous  in  May ;  breeds,  as  just  intimated, 
and  departs  usually  by  the  middle  of  September,  though 


M.    VARIA  I    BLACK-AND-WHITE    WARBLER.        IO*J 

it  has  been  found  in  Connecticut  in  early  October.  It  is 
oftenest  seen  in  May  and  September,  when  the  migra- 
tion is  in  full  action.  The  nest  is  usually  placed  on  the 
ground,  built  of  leaves,  grasses  and  moss,  lined  with 
fine,  soft  vegetable  substances,  such  as  fern-down,  and 
sometimes  hair.  The  eggs  are  laid  the  last  week  in 
May  or  early  in  June,  and  a  second  set  may  be  found 
sometimes  in  July.  They  are  4  to  6  in  number,  measur- 
ing 0.65  by  0.54,  of  a  creamy-white  ground-color,  more 
or  less  evenly  sprinkled  with  reddish-brown  dots,  among 
which  are  some  larger  markings  of  darker  brown  color, 
chiefly  about  the  greater  end.  Like  all  the  family, 
this  Warbler  is  insectivorous,  subsisting  upon  a  variety 
of  small  insects  gleaned  from  the  bark  and  foliage  of 
trees,  somewhat  in  the  manner  of  the  Creeper  (Cer- 
thia).  The  habit  of  scrambling  actively  about  the 
trunks  and  larger  branches  of  forest  trees  is  more 
conspicuous  in  this  than  in  other  species  of  Sylvico- 
lidce,  causing  the  bird  to  have  been  formerly  classed 
as  a  Certhia  —  an  error  perpetuated  in  the  vernacular 
name  of  Black-and-white  "  Creeper  "  long  after  natu- 
ralists had  ascertained  that  the  species  belonged  to  the 
Warbler  group.  It  is  a  typical  representative  of  the 
family  of  American  Warblers,  or  Sylvicolidce,  upon 
the  consideration  of  which  we  have  now  entered ;  one 
comprising  a  large  number  of  the  most  elegant  and 
agreeable  birds  of  this  country,  whose  featherings, 
songs,  and  manners,  almost  endlessly  varied,  render 
them  never-failing  objects  of  interest  to  every  one  who, 
with  a  heart  for  "the  life  of  the  woods,"  seeks  to  in- 
terpret the  mysterious  meaning  there  is  in  the  lives  of 
these  winged  messengers. 


IO8  SYLVICOLID^E  ;    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

BLUE   YELLOW-BACKED  WARBLER. 
PARULA  AMERICANA  (Z.)  Bf. 

Chars.  Adult  male  :  Above,  ashy-blue,  back  with  a  golden-brown 
patch  ;  throat  and  breast  yellow,  with  a  rich  brown  or  blackish 
patch  ;  belly,  eyelids,  two  broad  bars  across  the  wing,  and  sev- 
eral spots  on  the  tail,  white  ;  lores  dusky  ;  bill  black  above,  yel- 
low or  flesh-colored  below  ;  feet  pale  brown.  The  coloration  is 
very  variable,  according  to  degree  of  perfection  attained,  but  the 
general  appearance  is  so  striking  that  the  bird  is  not  likely  to  be 
mistaken.  The  female  is  similar  to  the  male,  but  the  blue  is  not 
so  bright,  and  the  peculiar  patch  on  the  back  and  breast  is  not 
so  well  defined.  In  young  birds  the  blue  is  glossed  all  over  with 
greenish,  the  patches  are  obscure  or  entirely  wanting,  the  yellow 
is  paler,  and  the  other  markings  are  not  well  pronounced.  Very 
small:  length,  4.50-4.75  ;  extent,  7.50  ;  wing,  2.30;  tail,  1.75  ; 
bill,  0.40  ;  tarsus,  0.65.  The  condition  of  albinism  has  been  ob- 
served in  this  delicate  and  daintily-colored  bird. 

A  common  summer  resident  in  New  England,  breed- 
ing abundantly,  and  one  of  the  most  numerous  of  all 
the  Warblers  during  the  migrations,  in  high,  open 
woods,  parks,  orchards,  and  gardens,  where  it  is  often- 
est  seen  skipping  and  fluttering  about  the  blossoms 
and  terminal  foliage  in  search  of  the  minute  insects 
upon  which  it  preys,  constantly  uttering  its  faint  chirp- 
ing notes.  It  arrives  from  the  south  early  in  May, 
becomes  generally  distributed  during  that  month,  and 
withdraws  during  September,  though  a  few  individuals 
may  linger  a  week  or  two  longer  in  favored  localities. 
It  is  particularly  numerous  during  the  autumnal  move- 
ment. We  have  advices  of  its  nesting  throughout 
New  England,  and  it  is  therefore  not  strictly  limited  in 
its  southward  distribution  in  the  breeding  season  by 
the  Alleghanian  Fauna,  though  so  catalogued  by  Mr. 


P.   CITREA  I    PROTHONOTARY    WARBLER. 

Allen ;  still,  greater  numbers  breed  in  northern  than 
in  southern  New  England.  Mr.  Merriam  speaks  of  a 
number  of  beautiful  hanging  nests  found  at  Portland, 
Conn.,  built  entirely  of  Usnea.  According  to  Mr. 
Minot,  "  the  nest  is  globular,  with  an  entrance  on  the 
side,  and  is  composed  principally  of  hanging  mosses. 
It  is  usually  placed  in  the  woods,  twenty  or  more  feet 
from  the  ground,  at  the  end  of  a  bough  of  some  hard- 
wood tree  or  evergreen.  It  usually  contains  four  or 
five  freshly  laid  eggs  early  in  June,  which  average 
about  .62  by  .48  of  an  inch,  and  are  white  (or  cream- 
tinted)  with  spots  and  confluent  blotches  of  brown  and 
lilac,  chiefly  about  the  crown."  "Their  nests  are  beau- 
tiful objects,"  the  same  writer  continues,  "  and  very 
admirable  architectural  works,  which  distinguish  their 
builders  from  all  the  other  members,  at  least  the 
American  members,  of  their  large  family,  the  War- 
blers ;  for  though  nearly  all  of  them  build  neat  and 
pretty  nests,  none  ever  construct  nests  so  striking  in 
appearance  as  these,  which  are  globular,  with  an  en- 
trance on  one  side."  So  it  seems  that  these  little  ex- 
quisites show  as  good  taste  in  their  household  arrange- 
ments as  in  their  dress. 


PROTHONOTARY  WARBLER. 
PROTONOTARIA  CITREA  (Bodd.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Golden-yellow,  fading  on  the  belly,  shading  to  yellowish- 
olive  on  the  back,  thence  changing  to  ashy-blue  on  the  rump, 
wings,  and  tail ;  most  of  the  tail-feathers  with  large  white  spots  ; 
bill  black  and  very  large.  Length,  5.50 ;  extent,  8.50 ;  wing, 
2.75-3.00  ;  tail,  2.25  ;  bill,  at  least  0.50  ;  tarsus,  0.75. 


no 


SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 


The  Prothonotary  Warbler  is  a  rare  straggler  to 
New  England  from  the  Southern  States.  One  instance 
of  such  occurrence  is  recorded  by  Prof.  Verrill  (Pr. 
Bost.  Soc.,  ix,  1863,  p.  234).  This  estray  was  found 
at  Calais,  Maine,  by  Mr.  George  H.  Boardman,  Octo- 
ber 30,  1862,  after  there  had  been  several  snow-falls, 
and  the  ground  frozen — its  happening  there  under 
such  circumstances  being  of  course  entirely  accidental. 


WORM-EATING  WARBLER. 
HELMINTHERUS  VERMIVORUS  (Gm.)  Up. 

Chars.  Olivaceous,  the  head  and  under  parts  buffy,  paler  or  whitish 
on  the  belly,  the  head  with  four  sharp  black  stripes  —  one  on 
each  side  of  crown,  another  through  each  eye ;  wings  and  tail 
like  back,  without  any  markings.  Bill  and  feet  pale  cinnamon. 
Bill  stout,  acute,  unnotched,  unbristled,  at  least  o  50  long. 
Length,  5.50  ;  extent,  8.50 ;  wing,  2.75  ;  tail,  2.00 ;  tarsus,  0.70. 

A  rare  summer  resident  in  southernmost  New  Eng- 
land only,  where  it  has  chiefly  been  observed  in  Con- 
necticut. It  is  normally 
limited  in  northward  dis- 
persion by  the  Carolinian 
Fauna.  It  was  ascribed  to 
Connecticut  by  Linsley,  in 
1843,  a  specimen  having 
been  taken  at  New  Haven 
by  Dr.  J.  D.  Whelpley. 
Mr.  H.  A.  Purdie  records  its  capture  in  the  nesting 
season  at  Saybrook,  by  Mr.  J.  N.  Clark  (Am.  Nat., 
vii,  Nov.,  1873,  p.  692),  and  the  same  writer  also  men- 
tions a  male  shot  by  Mr.  Shores  at  Suffield,  Aug.  22, 


FIG.  29.  —  WORM-EATING  WARBLER. 
(Natural  size.) 


H.   PINUS  I    BLUE-WINGED    YELLOW   WARBLER.    Ill 

1874  (Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  ii,  Jan.,  1877,  p.  21).  In 
his  Review  of  Connecticut  Birds  (1877,  p.  13),  Mr. 
Merriam  observes  :  "  Mr.  Clark  tells  me  he  has  seen 
as  many  as  five  individuals  in  a  single  day.  Mr. 
Thomas  Osborne,  of  New  Haven,  has  a  mounted 
specimen  in  his  cabinet,  procured  May  17,  1875. 
Two  or  three  other  specimens  were  shot  near  here  in 
May,  1875,  and  Mr.  George  Bird  Grinnell  tells  me 
that  he  has  known  of  the  capture  of  several  in  this 
vicinity."  To  these  instances  of  the  normal  northern 
limit  of  the  species,  and  the  implied  though  unverified 
fact  of  its  breeding  in  Connecticut,  I  have  to  add,  that 
I  have  seen  the  bird  in  Massachusetts,  at  East  Hamp- 
ton ;  and  that  Prof.  Verrill  has  recorded  its  presence 
in  Maine  (Proc.  Essex  Inst.,  iii,  p.  156). 


BLUE-WINGED  YELLOW  WARBLER. 
HELMINTHOPHAGA  PINUS  (£.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Above,  yellowish-olive,  becoming  slaty-blue  on  the  wings 
and  tail,  the  crown  and  all  the  under  parts  rich  yellow  ;  a  small 
black  stripe  through  the  eye  ;  wings  with  two  white  or  yellowish 
cross-bars  ;  tail  with  several  large  white  blotches  ;  bill  and  feet 
dark.  Length,  5.00  ;  extent,  8.00 ;  wing,  2.50  ;  tail,  2.25  ;  bill, 
045  ;  tarsus,  0.67. 

A  rare  summer  visitant  in  southern  New  England, 
where  it  is  known  to  breed;  chiefly  limited  by  the 
Carolinian  Fauna,  like  the  foregoing.  The  bird  has 
long  been  attributed,  and  correctly,  to  Massachusetts, 
as  by  Emmons,  Cabot,  and  others.  Dr.  Brewer  denied 
or  ignored  the  record  for  some  years,  but  was  finally 
forced  to  acknowledge  its  validity  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xx, 


112  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN   WARBLERS. 

1879,  P-  265)*  Mr.  E.  A.  Samuels,  whose  account 
had  been  discredited,  states  that  he  found  some  of  the 
birds  at  Dedham,  Mass.,  in  the  middle  of  May,  1857  ; 
and  Dr.  Brewer,  in  the  last  of  the  Supplements  in 
which  he  endeavored  to  retrieve  his  blunders  and 
catch  up  with  the  times,  speaks  of  a  specimen  in  the 
collection  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History 
procured  at  Dedham,  and  of  another  shot  at  West 
Roxbury  by  Mr.  C.  N.  Hammond  —  such  record  hav- 
ing been  made  by  Mr.  Ruthven  Deane  (Bull.  Nutt. 
Club,  iii,  1878,  p.  188).  The  species  is  not  in  any 
Maine  or  New  Hampshire  list  that  I  know  of.  The 
Connecticut  record  is  extensive  and  explicit.  Accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Merriam,  the  bird  is  a  summer  resident  and 
a  breeder  in  southern  Connecticut  and  in  the  Con- 
necticut Valley  (Rev.  B.  Conn.,  1877,  p.  14)  ;  Mr. 
J.  N.  Clark  found  it  breeding  regularly  and  in  con- 
siderable numbers  at  Saybrook  (Am.  Nat.,  vii,  1873, 
p.  692)  ;  Mr.  L.  C.  Bragg  took  it  at  New  Haven, 
May  12,  1876 ;  Mr.  W.  R.  Nichols,  at  Branford,  May 
12,  1877  ;  and  Mr.  Merriam  himself  at  New  Haven, 
May  24,  1876,  and  June  23,  1877.  The  last  was  an 
interesting  capture,  as  that  of  an  individual  which 
"  unquestionably  had  a  nest  in  the  immediate  vicinity." 
Dr.  Brewer  records  the  finding  of  a  nest  near  New 
Haven  by  N.  A.  Eddy,  June  14,  1879.  This  nest 
was  taken,  together  with  the  female  parent,  on  the 
2Oth,  by  which  time  it  contained  4  eggs.  It  was  found 
in  an  old  orchard,  half  a  mile  from  the  coast  of  Long 
Island  Sound ;  built  on  the  ground,  in  the  grass,  at 
the  foot  of  a  small  bush,  and  was  loosely  constructed 
of  oak-leaves.  The  eggs  were  white,  with  red  dots 
wreathed  around  the  larger  end,  and  also  a  few  spots 


H.   LEUCOBRONCHIALIS  I    WHITE-THROATED    W.       113 

scattered  over  the  surface ;  they  measured  from  0.60 
to  0.67  in  length,  by  0.47  to  0.50  in  breadth. 

Nearly  the  whole  New  England  record  of  the  species 
is  comprised  in  the  foregoing  paragraph. 


WHITE-THROATED   WARBLER. 
HELMINTHOPHAGA  LEUCOBRONCHIALIS  Bretust. 

Helminthophaga  leucobronchialis,  BREWSTER,  Am.  Sportsman,  v, 
Oct.,  1874,  p.  33.  '*  A  New  Species  of  North  American 
Warbler."  (Newtonville,  Mass.,  May  18,  1870.) 

BREWSTER,  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  i,  Apr.,  1876,  p.  i,  pi.  i. 
"  Description  of  a  New  Species  of  Helminthophaga." 
(Redescribed  from  the  same  specimen,  and  figured.) 

TROTTER,  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  ii,  July,  1877,  p.  79.  "Capture 
of  a  second  specimen  of  Helminthophaga  leucobronchialis." 
(Near  Clifton,  Delaware  Co.,  Pa.,  May  12,  1877,  by  C.  D. 
Wood.) 

TROTTER,  Proc.  Phila.  Acad.,  1877,  p.  292.  "On  Helmin- 
thophaga leucobronchialis  (Brewster)."  (Discovery  of  a 
third  specimen,  in  the  Philadelphia  Academy's  Museum, 
probably  procured  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Bell  of  New  York,  at 
Rockland,  New  York,  about  1832.) 

TROTTER,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iii,  Jan.,  1878,  p.  44.  "A  Third 
Specimen  of  Helminthophaga  leucobronchialis."  (The 
same  as  the  last  citation.) 

BREWSTER,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iii,  Apr.,  1878,  p.  99.  "The 
White-throated  Warbler  (Helminthophaga  leucobron- 
chialis) in  Connecticut."  (Discovery  of  the  fourth  speci- 
men, Wauregan,  Conn.,  May  25,  1875,  C.  M.  Carpenter.) 

BREWSTER,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iii,  Oct.,  1878,  p.  199.  "Cap- 
ture of  a  Fifth  Specimen  of  the  White-throated  War- 
bler (Helminthophaga  leucobronchialis)."  (At  Suffolk, 
Conn.,  July  3,  1875,  by  E.  I.  Shores.) 

TROTTER,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  Jan.,  1879,  p.  59.  "  Some 
Light  on  the  History  of  a  Rare  Bird."  (Being  the  history 
of  the  third  specimen  above  noted.) 

8 


114  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

PURDIE,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  July,  1879,  P-  l84-  "Record  of 
Additional  Specimens  of  the  White-throated  Warbler 
(Helminthophaga  leucobronchialis)."  (Sixth  specimen, 
Hudson,  Mass.,  May  or  June,  1858,  S.  Jillson ;  Seventh, 
Portland,  Conn.,  May  22,  1875,  W.  W.  Coe ;  Eighth, 
Saybrook,  Conn.,  May  30,  1879,  J.  N.  Clarke.) 

FISHER,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  Oct.,  1879,  P-  234-  "Helmin- 
thophaga leucobronchialis  in  New  York."  (The  ninth 
specimen  recognized,  from  Sing  Sing,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  24, 

1879.) 

Helminthophaga  gunnii,  GIBBS,  Daily  Morning  Democrat  (of  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.),  xvi,  June  I,  1879.  "A  New  Bird."  (The 
tenth  known  specimen,  described  as  a  new  species.) 
RIDGWAY,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  Oct.,  1879,  P-  233-  "  Note  on 
Helminthophaga  gunnii,  Gibbs."  (Identified  with  H. 
leucobronchialis,  as  was  also  done  by  Mr.  Purdie,  ibid., 
p.  185.) 

Chars.  "  Adult  male  :  summer  plumage.  Crown,  bright  yellow, 
slightly  tinged  with  olive  on  the  occiput.  Greater  and  middle 
wing-coverts,  yellow,  not  so  bright  as  the  crown.  Superciliary 
line,  cheeks,  throat,  and  entire  under  parts,  silky  white,  with  a 
slight  tinge  of  pale  yellow  on  the  breast.  Dorsal  surface  — 
exclusive  of  nape  which  is  clear  ashy  —  washed  with  yellow,  as 
are  also  the  outer  margins  of  the  secondaries.  A  narrow  line  of 
clear  black  passes  from  the  base  of  the  upper  mandible  through 
and  to  a  short  distance  behind  the  eye,  interrupted,  however,  by 
the  lower  eyelid,  which  is  distinctly  white.  No  trace  of  black  on 
the  cheeks  or  throat,  even  upon  raising  the  feathers.  Bill  black. 
Feet,  dark  brown.  Dimensions  —  length,  5.19;  extent,  7.88; 
wing,  2.45  ;  tail,  1.86;  culmen,  0.53. 

"  It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  description  that  this  bird 
resembles  most  closely  the  Golden-winged  Warbler  (Helmin- 
thophaga chrysopterd). 

"  The  entire  absence  of  black  or  ashy  on  the  cheeks  and 
throat,  the  peculiar  character  of  the  superciliary  line,  and  the 
white  lower  eyelid,  present  however  differences  not  to  be  recon- 
ciled with  any  known  seasonal  or  accidental  variation  of  that 
species.  The  restricted  line  of  black  through  the  eye  gives  the 
head  a  remarkable  similarity  to  that  of  Helminthophaga  pinus, 
but  the  semblance  goes  no  farther."  —  (Brewster.) 


H.   CHRYSOPTERA  I    GOLDEN-WINGED  WARBLER.     115 

The  above  paragraphs  present  the  original  de- 
scriber's  account  of  the  bird,  together  with  a  condensed 
statement  of  its  entire  history  to  date,  and  including 
the  references  to  the  published  account  of  every  speci- 
men known  thus  far.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  curious 
bird  was  discovered  in  Massachusetts,  and  that  a  ma- 
jority of  the  specimens  are  from  New  England.  Only 
one,  discovered  in  Michigan,  being  that  named  H. 
gunnii,  has  been  taken  at  any  considerable  distance 
from  our  boundary.  The  actual  range  of  the  species 
is  probably  coincident  with  that  of  H.  ckrysoptera,  its 
nearest  ally.  As  to  New  England,  we  can  only  say, 
as  yet,  that  the  bird  is  a  spring  and  fall  migrant  in 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  probably  breeding 
there.  It  will  be  observed  that  all  the  known  speci- 
mens are  males ;  the  female,  with  the  nest  and  eggs, 
(if,  indeed,  there  be  any  such  things,)  remain  to  be 
discovered. 


BLUE   GOLDEN-WINGED   WARBLER. 
HELMINTHOPHAGA  CHRYSOPTERA  (Z.)  Cab. 

Chars.  Above,  slaty-blue  ;  below,  white  or  whitish,  frequently  tinged 
with  yellow ;  crown  of  head  and  two  bars  on  wing  rich  yellow ; 
side  of  head  whitish,  with  a  broad  bar  of  black  from  bill  through 
eye ;  a  large  black  throat-patch  ;  white  blotches  on  several  tail- 
feathers  ;  bill  black.  Female  and  immature  specimens  have  the 
back  and  wings  glossed  with  yellowish-olive,  and  the  peculiar 
markings  of  the  head  and  throat  obscure.  Length,  5.00-5.25 ; 
extent,  8.50  ;  wing,  2.50-2.75  ;  tail,  2.25  ;  bill,  0.45  ;  tarsus,  0.60. 

The  distribution  of  this  pretty  bird  is  substantially 
the  same  as  that  of  the  Blue-winged  Yellow  Warbler. 
The  species  is  a  summer  resident  in  southern  New 


Il6  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN   WARBLERS. 

England,  being  chiefly  characteristic  of  the  Carolinian 
Fauna,  though  extending  commonly  into  Massachu- 
setts. It  is  rather  more  numerous  there,  and  in  Con- 
necticut, than  the  last-named,  but  is  still  one  of  the 
rarer  Warblers.  Entering  New  England  in  May,  it 
breeds,  and  retires  in  September.  The  nest,  like  that 
of  other  species  of  the  same  genus,  is  placed  on  the 
ground,  generally  in  low  swampy  woodland.  Mr. 
Hiram  Cutting  informs  me  that  he  has  found  it  in 
Vermont. 

The  best  account  of  the  nidification  has  been  given 
by  Mr.  J.  Warren  (Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  i,  Apr.,  1876, 
p.  6).  Speaking  of  its  breeding  in  eastern  Massachu- 
setts, this  writer  mentions  a  nest 
found  in  Newton,  on  a  strip  of 
swampy  land  on  the  skirts  of  a 
small  wood,  raised  about  two 
inches  from  the  wet  ground,  and 
concealed  by  the  leaves  of  a 
skunk  cabbage ;  it  was  com- 

FIG.  30. — BLUE  GOLDEN-WINGED  j  11          r  J  i  J 

WARBLER.  (Natural  size.)       posed  externally  of  dry  oak  and 
maple  leaves,  mixed  with  long 

strips  of  grape-vine  bark,  lined  with  fine  threads  of 
the  same  substance  interwoven  with  a  few  bits  of 
grass  —  on  the  whole  resembling  a  Maryland  Yellow- 
throat's.  Another  nest,  also  found  in  Newton,  was 
placed  in  a  tussock  of  grass  in  an  old  cart-road ; 
it  contained  4  fresh  eggs  on  the  5th  of  June,  and 
was  a  little  narrower  and  deeper  than  the  one  just 
described.  This  was  found  by  Mr.  Towne.  A  third 
nest,  discovered  in  the  same  locality  by  Mr.  Eager, 
was  like  the  others  in  structure  and  position,  and  also 
contained  4  eggs,  June  9,  1875.  A  nest  discovered 


H.  RUFICAPILLA:  NASHVILLE  WARBLER.       117 

by  Mr.  Maynard  in  West  Newton,  Mass.,  was  built 
on  the  ground,  at  the  foot  of  an  elm,  of  oak-leaves 
and  grape-vine  bark,  lined  with  fine  grasses  and  a  few 
horse-hairs.  Eggs  from  these  New  England  nests 
have  been  described  as  measuring  from  0.68  to  0.72  in 
length  by  0.48  to  0.58  in  breadth ;  in  color  white, 
more  or  less  thickly  dotted,  especially  at  the  larger 
end,  with  reddish-brown.  Two  of  the  eggs  from  Mr. 
Warren's  nest  are  said  to  have  been  "  pure  white." 


NASHVILLE    WARBLER. 
HELMINTHOPHAGA  RUFICAPILLA  (  Wits.)  JBd. 

Chars.  Above,  olive-green,  brighter  on  rump,  ashy  on  head,  with  a 
concealed  chestnut-brown  patch  on  the  crown.  Below,  bright 
yellow,  paler  on  belly,  olive-shaded  on  sides  ;  lores  and  eye-ring 
pale  ;  no  supraciliary  stripe ;  wings  and  tail  without  white  bars 
or  spots.  The  characteristic  crown-patch  may  be  wanting  m, 
female  and  young  specimens,  in  which,  also,  the  ashy  of  the  head, 
is  more  or  less  glossed,  with  olive.  Length,  4.50-4.75;  wing, 
2.30-2.50;  tail,  1.75-2.00;  bill,  0.40;  tarsus,  0.60. 

A  summer  resident  throughout  New  England,  breed- 
ing in  any  suitable  situations ;  common,  but  less  so  in 
the  summer  than  during  the  migrations,  when  it  is 
quite  abundant.  It  goes  very  far  north  in  summer, 
and  in  New  England  is  chiefly  limited  southward  in 
the  breeding  season  by  the  Alleghanian  Fauna,  though 
it  also  nests  sparingly  in  the  Carolinian.  The  nest  is 
placed  on  the  ground ;  it  is  composed  of  leaves,  bark, 
sometimes  almost  entirely  of  pine  needles,  lined  with 
finer  material  of  similar  kinds,  occasionally  with  hair. 
The  eggs  are  usually  four  in  number,  laid  early  in  June. 


Il8  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN  WARBLERS. 

They  are  white,  blushing  when  fresh,  and  speckled  all 
over.  According  to  Minot  they  "vary  between  the 
extremes  of  being  finely  and  thickly  marked  about  the 
crown  with  lilac  and  being  thinly  and  coarsely  blotched 
at  the  greater  end  with  reddish-brown,  these  markings 
being  sometimes  combined."  In  size  the  eggs  range 
from  0.60  to  0.63  in  length  by  0.48  to  0.52  in 
breadth.  The  nest  of  this  bird  is  one  of  the  many 
known  to  be  appropriated  by  the  Cowbird  at  times. 
The  Nashville  Warbler  reaches  New  England  early  in 
May,  and  departs  by  the  end  of  September.  It  is  most 
numerous  during  the  fall  migration,  and  in  many  lo- 
calities shows  an  evident  preference  for  coniferous  for- 
ests, though  it  may  be  found  indifferently  in  any  kind 
of  woodland  and  shrubbery.  It  is  not  a  very  conspic- 
uous bird,  either  in  dress,  voice,  or  action,  and  is 
hence  often  supposed  to  be  less  numerous  than  it  really 
is,  being  overlooked  amid  the  throng  of  Warblers  that 
pass  through  our  woods,  except  by  those  observers 
whose  eyes  and  ears  are  trained  in  the  exercise  of 
discrimination. 


ORANGE-CROWNED   WARBLER. 
HELMINTHOPHAGA  CELATA  (Say)  Bd. 

Chars.  Above,  nearly  uniform  olive-green,  rather  brightest  on  rump, 
but  never  ashy  on  head.  Below,  greenish-yellow,  olive-washed 
on  sides  ;  a  concealed  orange-brown  crown-patch  (often  wanting) ; 
a  yellowish  eye-ring  and  supraciliary  line.  "  Size  of  the  last,  and 
often  difficult  to  distinguish  in  immature  plumage  ;  but  a  general 
oliveness  and  yellowness  compared  with  the  ashy  of  some  parts 
of  ruficapilla,  and  the  different  color  of  the  crown-patch  of  the 
two  species,  will  usually  be  diagnostic." 


H.    CELATA  :    ORANGE-CROWNED    WARBLER.       119 

The  presence  of  the  Orange-crown  in  New  Eng- 
land is  not  easy  to  account  for,  as  indeed  is  also  the 
case  respecting  its  appearance  in  the  eastern  United 
States  at  large.  It  appears  to  be  essentially  a  bird  of 
western  North  America,  occurring  rarely  and  irregu- 
larly in  the  Atlantic  States.  Previous  to  1864  we  had 
a  few  notices  of  its  appearance  in  the  latter,  as  those 
given  by  Audubon  and  Nuttall.  Mr.  Allen  was  the 
first  to  show  its  presence  in  New  England,  at  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  May  15,  1863  (Bull.  Essex  Inst.,  iv, 
1864,  p.  60).  There  are  two  other  Massachusetts 
records  (Lynn,  Jan.  i.  1875,  Brewer,  Pr.  Bost.  Soc., 
xvii,  Mar.,  1875,  P-  4395  and  Concord,  Oct.  2,  1876, 
Breiuster,  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  i,  Nov.,  1876,  p.  94). 
Mr.  Brewster's  specimen  was  a  female,  found  indus- 
triously gleaning  insects  among  some  low  scattered 
birches  in  company  with  Black-throated  Green,  Black- 
poll,  and  Nashville  Warblers.  Mr.  W.  H.  Fox  found 
the  bird  at  Hollis,  New  Hampshire,  as  stated  in  For- 
est and  Stream,  vi,  p.  354.  A  second  New  Hamp- 
shire specimen  was  taken  at  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  Sept. 
9,  1877  ;  this  was  a  female,  "in  a  small  flock  supposed 
to  be  of  the  same  species"  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iii,  Apr., 
1878,  p.  96).  There  is  also  a  reference  to  a  Rhode 
Island  capture  at  Cranston,  Dec.  3,  1874  (Purdie,  Bull. 
Nuttall  Club,  ii,  Jan.,  1877,  P-  2I)-  Though  the  bird 
has  not  yet  been  reported  from  Connecticut,  it  unques- 
tionably occurs  in  that  State,  having  been  noticed  by 
Mr.  E.  P.  Bicknell  in  New  York  close  by  the  Con- 
necticut border  (see  Merriam,  Rev.  B.  Conn.,  1877, 
p.  15).  Bearing  the  close  resemblance  that  it  does  to 
several  other  species,  it  is  not  unlikely  to  escape  obser- 
vation unless  very  carefully  sought  for. 


I2O  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

TENNESSEE   WARBLER. 
HELMINTHOPHAGA  PEREGRINA  (  Wils.)   Cab. 

Chars.  Adult  male  :  Above,  yellowish-olive,  brightest  posteriorly, 
changing  anteriorly  to  pure  ash  ;  no  crown-patch  ;  lores,  eye-ring, 
and  frequently  a  supraciliary  stripe,  whitish.  Under  parts  dull 
white,  scarcely  or  not  tinged  with  yellowish.  Wings  and  tail 
dusky,  strongly  edged  with  the  color  of  the  back,  the  outer  tail- 
feathers  frequently  with  obscure  whitish  spots.  Bill  and  feet  dark. 
Female  :  The  ashy  of  the  head  less  pure,  and  the  whole  under 
parts  more  or  less  tinged  with  yellowish.  Young:  Like  the  adult 
female,  but  whole  upper  parts  more  decidedly  yellowish-olive,  and 
under  parts  strongly  tinged  with  yellowish.  In  distinguishing 
this  species,  the  great  length  of  the  pointed  wing,  in  comparison 
with  the  short  tail,  will  be  diagnostic  when  the  plumage  may  be 
much  like  that  of  ruficapilla  or  celata.  Length,  4.50-4.75  ;  ex- 
tent, 8.00  or  more  ;  wing  about  2.75,  with  the  first  three  or  four 
quills  of  nearly  equal  lengths  ;  tail  only  2.00,  or  less. 

The  Tennessee  Warbler  would  appear  to  be  one  of 
those  species  whose  range  in  the  breeding  season 
helps  to  draw  the  New  England  line  between  the 
Alleghanian  and  Canadian  Faunas ;  but  it  is  rather 
too  rare  a  bird  in  this  part  of  the  world  to  enable 
us  to  settle  its  geographical  status  in  a  perfectly 
satisfactory  manner.  In  southern  New  England, 
according  to  the  consenting  testimony  of  all  the  local 
lists,  it  occurs  only  during  the  migrations,  and  is 
never  common.  It  reaches  Connecticut  early  in  May, 
passes  on  during  that  month,  and  reappears  in  Septem- 
ber. Mr.  Merriam  mentions  one  instance  of  occur- 
rence near  Suffield,  Conn.,  June  8,  1875,  "which  js 
so  late  that  one  might  almost  suspect  it  of  breeding 
within  our  limits"  (Rev.  B.  Conn.,  1877,  p.  14). 
Allen,  Brewer,  and  Minot  concur  in  stating  that  it  is 


H.  PEREGRINA  :  TENNESSEE  WARBLER.     121 

only  a  migrant  as  far  north  as  Massachusetts.  Enter- 
ing Maine,  however,  the  face  of  the  record  changes 
directly.  Prof.  Verrill  reports  the  bird  from  the  head- 
waters of  the  Penobscot  in  June,  where  it  was  doubt- 
less breeding ;  it  was  found  by  Mr.  Boardman  in  the 
vicinity  of  Calais,  in  the  breeding  season  ;  and  Mr. 
Maynard  reports  it  as  very  common  at  Umbagog  in 
the  same  period  of  its  life,  adding  the  following  note  : 
"  This  beautiful  little  species  breeds  at  Upton  ;  two  or 
three  females  were  taken  about  June  8th,  which  showed 
every  evidence  of  incubating,  yet  we  were  unable  to 
discover  the  nest,  though  diligent  search  was  made 
for  it  in  localities  where  it  must  have  been  built.  The 
nest  is  probably  placed  on  the  ground,  after  the  man- 
ner of  all  the  genus.  The  bird  is  found  in  all  wooded 
localities  in  the  region  north  of  the  neighboring  moun- 
tain range,  which  is  without  doubt  its  southern  limit 
during  the  breeding  season."  From  the  Canadian, 
then,  the  bird  breeds  northward  through  the  Hudso- 
nian,  Fauna,  and  even  to  Arctic  America ;  but  I 
am  aware  that  an  authentic  nest  has  been  found  in 
New  England,  and  even  so  far  south  as  Springfield, 
Mass.,  where  it  was  secured  by  Professor  Horsford, 
the  parent  having  been  also  taken,  confirming  the 
identification.  It  is  described  by  Dr.  Brewer  as  built 
in  a  low  clump  of  bushes,  just  above  the  ground,  and 
constructed  of  fine  vegetable  fibres,  grasses,  mosses 
and  the  like,  and  lined  with  hair ;  it  was  2|  inches 
in  diameter,  by  2  in  depth,  with  a  cavity  2Xif. 
The  eggs,  measuring  0.60x0.50,  were  pearly  white, 
wreathed  about  the  larger  end  with  brown  and  pur- 
plish markings. 


122  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

SUMMER  WARBLER ;   SUMMER  YELLOW-BIRD  ; 
YELLOW  WARBLER. 

DENDRCECA  ^ESTIVA  (Gm.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Golden-yellow,  the  back  yellowish-olive,  fre- 
quently with  dark  streaks,  the  breast  and  sides  boldly  striped 
with  orange-brown  ;  wings  and  tail  dusky,  all  the  feathers  edged 
with  yellow ;  bill  dark  horn-blue  ;  feet  brown.  Female  and 
young :  Paler  yellow,  the  orange-brown  stripes  dull,  few,  or  want- 
ing entirely.  Length,  4.75-5.00  ;  extent,  7-S°~7-75  J  wing,  2.50  ; 
tail,  2.00  ;  bill,  0.37  ;  tarsus,  0.68. 

This  lovely  Warbler,  not  less  famed  for  its  beauty 
than  for  its  confiding  disposition,  is  one  of  the  most 
abundant  representatives  of  the  genus  Dendroeca  in 
New  England  in  the  summer  months  and  during  the  mi- 
grations. It  is  almost  universally  distributed  through- 
out North  America,  and  perhaps  the  only  one  of  the 
Wood  Warblers  that  breeds  with  equal  readiness  in 
most  parts  of  its  remarkably  extensive  range ;  being, 
moreover,  one  of  the  very  few  which  build  their  nests 
in  the  orchard,  garden,  park,  or  city,  on  familiar 
terms  with  man.  It  appears,  indeed,  to  be  more  nu- 
merous in  cultivated  and  populous  districts  than  in  the 
trackless  woods  and  swamps  of  mountainous  and  north- 
erly sections.  Arriving  in  New7  England  early  in  May, 
sometimes  the  latter  part  of  April,  it  is  soon  settled  for 
the  summer ;  lays  its  eggs  late  in  May  or  early  in 
June,  sometimes  a  second  set  in  July,  and  departs 
early  in  September,  before  the  first  storms  of  autumn, 
which  its  delicate  constitution  is  little  able  to  endure. 
The  nest  may  be  built  in  a  fruit  or  shade  tree  at  some 
distance  from  the  ground ;  oftener,  however,  in  hedge- 


DENDRCECA  ESTIVA  :    SUMMER  YELLOW-BIRD.    123 

rows  or  other  shrubbery  in  fields  and  pastures,  as  bar- 
berry and  currant-bushes,  or  in  thickets  of  willows  or 
alders  along  the  banks  of  streams  and  in  other  low 
moist  situations.  It  is  a  neat,  compact,  and  durable 
structure,  of  soft  vegetable  and  animal  substances, 
closely  felted  together,  but  so  miscellaneous  as  to  be 
scarcely  described  in  few  words.  Soft  cottony  mate- 
rial, such  as  plant-down  of  various  kinds,  are  always 
conspicuous  in  these  structures,  which  usually  also 
include  wool,  hair,  silk,  and  sometimes  a  few  feathers; 
these  felting  materials  being  added  to  a  frame-work  of 
fine  grasses  and  weed-tops.  The  eggs  are  from  3  to 
5  in  number,  commonly  4  or  5,  among  which  may 
often  be  found  the  Cow-bird's  egg  —  the  Summer 
Warbler  being  one  of  the  birds  most  persistently  victim- 
ized by  the  reprobate  tramp  of  a  Molothrus,  and  one 
which  sometimes  displays  great  ingenuity  in  avoiding 
the  disagreeable  task  of  incubating  the  alien  egg,  by 
adding  a  second  story  to  its  nest,  thus  leaving  the  hate- 
ful object  in  the  basement  below,  out  of  the  hatching 
way  forever.  The  eggs  measure  from  0.64  to  0.69  in 
length,  by  0.48  to  0.53  in  breadth;  they  are  usually 
dull  grayish-white  or  greenish-white,  sometimes  more 
purely  white,  variously  dotted,  spotted,  and  blotched 
with  different  shades  of  reddish-brown  and  lilac,  chiefly 
about  the  larger  end.  The  gay  color  of  this  Warbler 
makes  a  pretty  spot  as  the  bird  flits  through  the  green 
foliage  of  the  forest  or  plays  amidst  the  rose-tinted 
blossoms  of  the  fruit-orchard ;  and  its  sprightly  song 
is  one  of  the  most  familiar  sounds  of  bird-life  during 
the  season  when  the  year  renews  its  youth. 


124  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

BLACK-THROATED  GREEN  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  VIRENS  (Gm.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Back  and  crown  clear  yellow-olive,  in  high 
plumage  with  dusky  markings  ;  forehead  and  entire  sides  of  head 
rich  yellow,  with  olive  markings  through  eyes  and  auriculars  ; 
chin,  throat,  and  breast,  jet-black,  this  color  prolonged  in  streaks 
on  the  sides  of  the  body  ;  other  under  parts  white,  more  or  less  yel- 
low-tinted ;  wings  and  tail  dusky,  the  former  with  two  white  cross- 
bars and  much  white  edging,  the  latter  with  the  three  outer  feath- 
ers nearly  all  white ;  bill  black,  feet  dark.  Female  and  young, 
and  male  in  fall :  Not  so  highly  colored,  the  black  restricted,  inter- 
rupted, veiled  with  yellow,  or  wanting  entirely,  except  a  few 
streaks  along  the  sides.  Length,  4.75-5.00  ;  extent,  7.25  ;  wing, 
2.50 ;  tail,  2.00  ;  bill,  0.35  ;  tarsus,  0.70. 

Next  after  the  ubiquitous  and  almost  domestic  Sum- 
mer Warbler,  the  Black-throated  Green  is  the  most 
abundant  and  most  widely  distributed  of  its  kind  in 
New  England  during  the  summer  months.  Its  evi- 
dent preference  in  the  choice  of  a  home  is  for  the  pine 
woods,  and  wherever  there  are  tracts  of  coniferous 
trees,  there  these  Warblers  are  almost  sure  to  be  found 
the  tenants  of  sighing  seclusion,  reiterating  in  no  un- 
certain accents  the  secrets  which  the  melancholy  pines 
confide  to  stealthy  breezes.  In  New  Hampshire  and 
northward  the  birds  are  more  numerous  than  they  ap- 
pear to  be  in  southern  New  England,  where  they  are 
seen  in  greatest  numbers  during  the  vernal  and  au- 
tumnal migrations ;  and  they  are,  moreover,  some- 
what locally  distributed  in  summer,  abounding  in  some 
places,  at  least  in  comparison  with  their  numbers  in 
others  to  all  appearance  equally  eligible ;  still,  the 
general  statement  that  they  breed  in  all  the  New  Eng- 


D,  VIRENS  :   BLACK-THROATED  GREEN  WARBLER.     125 

land  pineries  is  accurate.  Entering  this  country  late 
in  April,  certainly  by  the  opening  of  the  following 
month,  they  spread  at  large,  leaving  representatives 
all  the  way,  and  some  proceed  northward  beyond  our 
limits.  Family  cares  concluded,  the  return  movement 
begins  early  in  September,  or  even  during  August ; 
some  may  still  be  seen  in  Massachusetts  in  October, 
and  all  do  not  withdraw  from  the  Connecticut  Valley 


FIG.  31.  —  BLACK-THROATED  GREEN  WARBLER.    (Natural  size.) 

until  the  latter  part  of  this  month.  They  are  very  well- 
known  birds,  so  numerous  are  they,  and  so  easy  to 
identify  by  their  conspicuous  colors,  active  habits,  and 
energetic  notes,  repeated  almost  incessantly  during  the 
nuptial  period.  One  can  hardly  enter  a  piece  of  pine- 
woods  during  the  summer  without  having  his  attention 
soon  attracted  by  their  quaint  notes,  and  he  will  not  be 
long  in  discovering  from  what  birds  the  sounds  proceed, 


126  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

the  little  creatures  being  soon  descried  flitting  about 
in  the  upper  foliage  of  these  shady  resorts,  very  indus- 
triously foraging  for  their  insect  prey. 

A  nest  in  the  Amherst  College  cabinet,  supposed  to 
have  been  taken  in  New  Hampshire,  is  composed  out- 
wardly of  thin  strips  of  soft  inner  bark,  with  a  few 
pine-needles,  and  some  slender  pine-twigs ;  with  an 
inner  layer  of  grasses,  and  a  final  lining  of  horse-hair, 
some  bits  of  paper  and  cloth  being  also  used,  between 
the  grasses  and  the  pine-needles.  This  corresponds 
in  the  main  with  the  description  given  by  Mr.  Minot 
(B.  N.  E.,  1877,  p.  117),  who  has  offered  us  a  fresh 
and  feeling  description  of  a  bird  which  is  evidently  a 
great  favorite  of  his.  "  The  nest,"  he  says,  "  is  usually 
placed  in  a  pine,  in  a  horizontal  fork  near  the  end  of  a 
bough,  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  above  the  ground  (but 
sometimes  lower).  It  is  finished  in  June,  sometimes  in 
the  first  week,  sometimes  not  until  the  last.  It  is  com- 
posed outwardly  of  narrow  strips  of  thin  bark,  bits  of 
twigs  from  vines,  dried  grasses,  and  such  odds  and 
ends  as  the  birds  have  found  convenient  to  employ ; 
and  inwardly  of  bits  of  wool,  feathers,  and  plant- 
down,  but  it  is  generally  lined  with  hairs  and  fine 
shreds  of  vegetable  substances.  It  is  usually  small, 
neat,  and  very  pretty.  The  eggs  of  each  set  are  three 
or  four,  and  average  .67X-54  of  an  inch.  They  are 
commonly  (creamy)  white,  with  reddish  or  amber- 
brown  and  -purplish  markings,  grouped  principally 
about  the  crown.  These  markings  are,  for  the  most 
part,  either  clear  and  delicate  or  a  little  coarse  and 
rather  obscure ;  but  the  eggs  are  better  characterized 
by  their  shape,  being  rather  broad  in  proportion  to  their 
length." 


DENDRCECA    CCERULESCENS  :    BLUE    WARBLER.       127 

BLACK-THROATED   BLUE  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  CCERULESCENS  (Z.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Male,  adult:  Above,  uniform  slaty-blue,  in  high  plumage 
with  a  few  black  streaks  on  the  back ;  below,  pure  white,  the 
sides  of  the  head  to  above  the  eyes,  the  whole  chin,  throat,  and 
sides  of  the  body,  jet-black  ;  no  white  wing-bars,  but  a  white 
spot  at  base  of  primaries  ;  wings  dusky,  edged  with  the  color  of 
the  back ;  tail  with  large  white  blotches  ;  bill  black ;  feet  dark. 
Female  :  Entirely  different ;  dull  olive-green,  with  a  slight  bluish 
shade,  below  pale  dull  yellowish ;  but  recognizable  by  the  tri- 
angular white  spot  at  the  base  of  the  primaries,  which,  though 
smaller  than  in  the  male,  may  almost  always  be  seen,  at  least 
on  pushing  aside  the  primary  coverts  ;  no  other  wing-markings. 
The  male  in  immature  plumage  has  the  blue  glossed  with  green- 
ish, and  the  black  interrupted  and  restricted.  Size  of  the  spe- 
cies, that  of  D.  virens. 

So  far  as  its  local  distribution  in  New  England 
is  concerned,  the  Black -throated  Blue  offers  a  case 
closely  coincident  with  that  of  the  species  last  no- 
ticed. To  the  fact  that  it  is  less  numerous,  observa- 
tions respecting  its  movements  being  thus  less  com- 
plete, are  to  be  attributed  in  the  main  those  differ- 
ences between  the  published  records  of  the  two  species. 
Thus  Dr.  Brewer's  list  of  1875  incorrectly  gives  the 
bird  as  only  a  migrant  in  southern  New  England, 
though  it  has  been  observed  in  summer  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  has  been  known  to  breed  in  Connecticut. 
The  majority  of  individuals,  however,  pass  in  spring 
through  the  Alleghanian  into  the  Canadian  Fauna  to 
breed  ;  and  Dr.  Coues  stated  the  case  correctly  in  1868, 
in  saying  that  it  breeds  throughout  New  England,  but 
most  numerously  in  its  northern  portions.  It  appears 
to  enter  the  country  a  few  days  later  than  the  Black- 


128  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN   WARBLERS. 

throated  Green  does,  —  usually  the  second  week  in 
May,  —  and  is  commonly  observed  in  Connecticut  or 
Massachusetts  until  June,  by  which  time  most  indi- 
viduals betake  themselves  northward.  The  return 
movement  occupies  the  month  of  September  and  part 
of  October,  as  in  the  case  of  the  species  last  men- 
tioned. There  is  even  an  instance  of  the  presence  of 
the  bird  near  Boston  in  winter;  but  this  is  of  course 
wholly  exceptional.  The  chief  difference  in  habits 
between  this  species  and  its  nearest  relative  is,  that 
it  does  not  show  the  same  decided  preference  for 
pineries. 

The  best  account  we  have  of  the  nest  and  eggs  is 
that  lately  furnished  by  the  Rev.  C.  M.  Jones,  who 
twice  found  these  birds  breeding  at  Eastford,  Conn., 
and  recorded  his  observations  in  the  Bulletin  of  the 
Nuttall  Club,  i,  Apr.,  1876,  p.  n,  as  follows:  "The 
nest  was  located  in  deep  woods,  near  the  base  of  a 
hill  which  sloped  down  to  a  swampy  run.  It  was 
built  in  a  small  laurel  {Kalmia  latifolia),  a  fourth  of 
an  inch  in  diameter  at  the  base.  About  five  inches 
from  the  ground  the  bush  separated  into  three  branches, 
and  in  this  triple  fork  the  nest  was  situated.  It  has  a 
firm  and  compact  appearance.  It  was  composed  out- 
wardly of  what  appears  to  be  dry  bark  of  grape-vine, 
with  a  few  twigs  and  roots.  This  is  covered  in  many 
places  with  a  reddish  woolly  substance,  apparently 
the  outer  covering  of  some  species  of  cocoon.  The 
inside  is  composed  of  small  black  roots  and  hairs. 
The  nest  contained  four  eggs."  This  nest  was  found 
June  8,  1874.  "The  second  nest  I  discovered  on  the 
I3th  of  the  same  month.  It  was  about  80  rods  dis- 
tant from  the  first,  on  level  ground,  and  near  a  piece 


DENDRCECA   CCERULEA  I    CCERULEAN    WARBLER. 

of  swampy  land.  The  nest  was  not  so  near  the  ground 
as  the  first,  the  top  being  nj  inches  from  it.  It  was 
placed  in  a  laurel."  Though  of  the  same  material, 
this  latter  nest  was  so  constructed,  that,  "placed  side 
by  side,  the  two  nests  bear  very  little  resemblance." 
The  eggs  are  3  to  5,  creamy  white,  tinged  when  fresh 
with  rose-color,  marked  with  a  few  scattering  spots  of 
brownish,  generally  at  the  larger  end,  but  often  also 
over  the  entire  surface ;  they  are  from  0.60  to  0.67 
long,  by  0.47  to  0.51  broad,  and  are  laid  the  first  of 
June. 

CCERULEAN  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  CCERULEA  (  Wils.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Above,  azure-blue,  with  black  streaks  ;  below,  pure  white, 
with  blue  or  blue-black  streaks  on  the  breast  and  sides  ;  wings 
with  two  white  cross-bars  ;  nearly  all  the  tail-feathers  with  white 
spots  ;  bill  black  ;  feet  dark.  Female  and  young  with  the  blue 
impure,  glossed  over  with  greenish,  the  white  similarly  soiled 
with  yellowish  ;  a  yellowish  eye-ring  and  supraciliary  line.  A 
small,  very  beautiful  species,  less  than  5  inches  long. 

This  very  daintily-colored  Warbler  is  a  rare  sum- 
mer visitant  to  southern  New  England  only,  being 
apparently  confined  to  the  Carolinian  Fauna,  where, 
doubtless,  it  will  be  found  to  breed  occasionally. 

[The  Coerulean  Warbler  was  attributed  to  New 
England  by  Linsley  in  1843,  having  been  observed 
by  that  gentleman  at  Stratford,  Conn.,  in  April,  1841. 
(See  Am.  Journ.  Sci.,  xliv,  No.  2,  Apr.,  1843,  p.  257.) 
Nothing  appears  to  throw  doubt  upon  this  record.  In 
1868,  I  included  the  species  among  the  birds  of  New 
England,  on  the  strength  of  the  Connecticut  instance, 

9 


130         SYJvVicoi,n>,*:  :  AMKRICAN  WARBLERS. 

and  of  an  alleged  Massachusetts  occurrence  given  by 
F.  W.  Putnam.  The  latter,  it  seems,  proves  to  have 
been  erroneous.  But  in  satisfying  himself,  by  a  care- 
ful inquiry,  that  Mr.  Putnam  meant  D.  ccerulcscens^ 
not  D.  ccerulea,  Dr.  Brewer  overlooked  or  ignored  the 
earlier  record,  and  said  he  could  "find  no  evidence 
that  this  bird  has  ever  crossed  our  borders"  (Pr. 
Bost.  Soc.,  xvii,  1875,  P-  451)-  Very  soon,  however, 
he  was  obliged  to  reconsider  the  matter,  new  evi- 
dence of  unquestionable  character  having  been  forced 
upon  his  attention  ;  for  Mr.  Purdie  meanwhile  brought 
to  light  the  fact  that  a  male  had  been  procured  by  Mr. 
E.  I.  Shores  at  Suffield,  Conn.,  June  12,  1875  (Bull. 
Nutt.  Club,  ii,  Jan.,  1877,  p.  21).  Yielding  very  re- 
luctantly, Dr.  Brewer  then  admitted  the  species  in  the 
following  terms,  which  seem  intended  to  cast  suspicion 
upon  Mr.  Purdie's  veracity:  "This  western  species  is 
said  to  have  been  taken  at  Suffield,  Conn;  (Nutt.  Bull. 
ii,  p.  21  ;  Merriam's  Birds  of  Conn.,  p.  16).  I  there- 
fore venture  to  add  this  bird  to  my  list,  though  not 
without  much  hesitation"  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xix,  1878, 
P-  3°3)*  Such  grudging  concession  betrays  ill-humor 
in  the  failing  attempt  to  break  down  the  general  reli- 
ability of  my  list  of  1868,  and  in  the  impossibility  of 
holding  up  the  trustworthiness  of  his  catalogue  of 
1875 — to  do  which  Dr.  Brewer  seems  to  have  often 
challenged  the  statements  of  other  writers  beyond  any 
requirement  of  proper  scrutiny.  The  Coerulean  War- 
bler has  since  this  contretemps  been  found  in  Rhode 
Island,  as  recorded  by  Mr.  Ruthven  Deane  (Bull.  Nutt. 
Club,  iv,  1879,  P-  J85)»  wh°  says  that  a  specimen  was 
taken  near  Cumberland  Hill,  in  that  State,  by  Mr.  C.  M. 
Carpenter,  May  22,  1878.  This  was  a  male  shot  in 


DENDRCECA    CO  RON  AT  A  :    MYRTLE    BIRD. 

company  with  a  troop  of  Blue  Yellow-backed  War- 
blers. An  individual  was  also  taken  by  Mr.  E.  A. 
Mearns,  at  West  Point,  N.  Y.,  not  far  from  the  New 
England  line,  May  17,  1875  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iii, 
Jan.,  1878,  p.  40).  A  very  full  and  interesting  account 
of  the  nest  and  eggs,  before  little  known,  has  lately 
been  published  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Allen,  upon  examination 
of  material  from  East  Penfield,  N.  Y.,  taken  by  Mr. 
P.  S.  Fuller,  June  7,  1878  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  Jan., 
1879,  p.  25).—  C.] 

YELLOW-RUMPED  WARBLER;   MYRTLE   BIRD. 
DENDRCECA  CORONATA  (Z.)  Gray. 

Chars.  Adult  male  :  Above,  slaty-blue,  streaked  with  black  ;  below, 
white,  the  breast  and  sides  heavily  streaked  with  black  ;  throat 
definitely  pure  white,  bounded  by  the  black  of  the  side  of  the  head 
and  of  the  breast.  Eyelids  and  a  supraciliary  line  white.  Rump, 
middle  of  crown,  and  sides  of  breast  bright  yellow.  Wings  with 
two  white  cross-bars.  Tail  with  large  white  blotches.  Bill  and 
feet  black.  Length,  5.50-5.75  ;  extent,  8.50  ;  wing,  3.00 ;  tail, 
2.50.  The  male  in  winter,  the  female,  and  young  have  the  slaty 
color  more  or  less  completely  replaced  by  plain  dull  brown,  and 
the  streaks  on  the  under  parts  few  or  obsolete,  or  not  pure  black. 
The  changes  of  plumage  are  interminable;  but  the  rump  is  always 
yellow,  and  there  are  more  or  less  evident  traces  of  the  yellow 
on  the  sides  and  crown ;  which  marks  are  therefore  diagnostic. 

The  very  well-known  Yellow-rump  is  the  only  spe- 
cies of  its  genus  regularly  found  in  New  England  in 
winter ;  at  which  season  it  may  be  seen  as  far  north 
as  Massachusetts,  in  company  with  Chickadees,  Nut- 
hatches, Kinglets,  and  various  Sparrows.  It  is,  how- 
ever, less  abundant  during  the  inclement  season  than 
whilst  the  migrations  are  in  progress  ;  at  which  periods 


132  SYLVICOLID^E  I    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

it  is  one  of  the  most  numerous  of  the  Warblers.  It  is 
a  rather  early  spring  migrant,  appearing  in  numbers 
usually  about  the  middle  of  April,  remaining  in  force 
until  the  latter  part  of  May,  reappearing  late  in  Sep- 
tember, and  loitering  in  undiminished  abundance  all 
through  October.  Then  those  that  are  to  pass  south 
take  their  departure,  and  the  remainder  settle  in  win- 
ter-quarters. These  remarks  apply  to  the  Alleghanian 
and  Carolinian  Faunae,  in  which  areas  Dr.  Brewer 
has  stated  the  Yellow-rump  to  be  simply  tf  migratory  ;  " 
but  the  fact  of  its  wintering  regularly  in  southern  New 

England  is  the  most  notable 
point  respecting  its  local  dis- 
tribution, attested  by  many 
specific  records.  It  has  been 
seen  in  winter  in  Swamp- 
scott,  Mass.  ;  I  have  found 
it  wintering  in  Marshfield, 
Mass. ;  "  a  few  known  to  win- 
32.-YELLOW-RUMPED  WAR-  ter  on  Cape  Cod"  (Allen)-, 

BLER.   (Natural  size.)  .    r  v 

'  Mr.  Grinnell  informs  me  he 

has  taken  it  every  month  during  the  entire  winter" 
(in  Connecticut,  Merriani)  ;  "I  have  several  times, 
in  December  and  January,  found  them  near  Boston  " 
(Minot)  ;  etc. 

Entering  the  Canadian  Fauna,  the  scene  shifts  to 
present  the  Myrtle  Bird  as  a  summer  resident  of  New 
England,  breeding  numerously  in  the  coniferous  for- 
ests of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Vermont.  For 
instance,  it  is  common  during  the  breeding  season  at 
Upton,  Me.,  where,  according  to  Mr.  Maynard,  the 
eggs  are  laid  about  the  second  week  in  June.  "  Three 
nests  were  found  by  Mr.  H.  B.  Bailey,  on  June  7th 


D.   AUDUBONI  :    AUDUBON  S    WARBLER.  133 

and  8th.  They  were  all  built  in  low  spruce-trees, 
about  four  feet  from  the  ground,  and  were  rather  neat 
structures,  being  made  of  hemlock  twigs  and  lined 
with  a  few  feathers.  They  each  contained  four  fresh 
eggs.  Several  other  nests  were  taken  by  Mr.  Bailey 
between  the  8th  and  I5th"  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xiv,  1872, 
P-  363)-  "A  nest  which  I  found  in  northern  New 
Hampshire  was  somewhat  different,  but  contained  three 
eggs,  which  were  white,  marked  with  purplish  and 
brown,  and  average  .68X-5O  of  an  inch.  Dr.  Brewer 
describes  others  as  measuring  about  -75X«55  of  an 
inch,  and  being  white,  or  often  bluish,  '  blotched  and 
spotted  with  reddish-brown,  purple,  and  darker  shades 
of  brown.'"  (Minot,  B.  N.  E.,  1877,  p.  124.) 

Such  is  the  usual  and  normal  manner  of  the  Yellow- 
rump's  presence  in  New  England.  There  is  some- 
thing curiously  erratic,  however,  in  its  breeding  in- 
stincts and  capacities  ;  for  it  is  known  to  rear  its  young, 
in  some  instances,  in  localities  far  south  of  New  Eng- 
land, even  in  the  West  Indies.  A  notice  has  lately  ap- 
peared of  its  nesting  in  Maryland  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v, 
July,  1880,  p.  182).  It  is  supposed  by  Mr.  Allen,  with 
good  reason,  to  breed  occasionally  in  Berkshire  County, 
Mass.  ;  and  no  one  need  be  surprised  to  hear  of  a  nest 
found  in  any  portion  whatever  of  New  England. 

AUDUBON'S  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  AUDUBONI  (Towns.)  Bd. 

Chars.  "  With  a  close  general  resemblance  to  the  last,  but  throat 
yellow,  not  white  ;  eyelids  white,  but  no  white  supraciliary  line; 
cheeks  not  definitely  white  ;  wing-bars  generally  fused  into  one 
large  white  patch,  and  tail-blotches  larger  ;  otherwise  like  coro- 
nata,  of  which  it  is  the  western  representative."  —  (Coues.) 


134  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

Accidental  in  New  England,  in  one  known  instance. 
A  specimen  was  taken  near  Cambridge,  Mass.,  Nov. 
15,  1876,  by  A.  M.  Frazar.  "It  was  a  male,  and  the 
yellow  of  the  throat  was  very  plainly  marked  (Bull. 
Nutt.  Club,  ii,  Jan.,  1877,  p.  27).  ["The  occurrence, 
if  authentic,"  snarls  Dr.  Brewer,  "must  be  regarded 
as  exceptional  and  accidental."  This  is  singular  per- 
spicacity—  the  species  being  one  which  belongs  on  the 
other  side  of  the  continent  of  North  America.  — C1.] 


BLACKBURN'S  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  BLACKBURN^  (Gm.)  Bd. 

Chars .  Adult  male :  Above,  including  wings  and  tail,  black,  the 
back  varied  with  whitish  or  dull  yellowish  streaks,  the  wings  with 
a  large  white  area  on  the  coverts  and  much  white  edging;  several 
lateral  tail-feathers  mostly  white.  Crown-spot,  eyelids,  line  over 
eye,  throat,  and  breast  intense  orange  or  flame-color,  finely  con- 
trasting with  black  surroundings ;  sides  streaked  with  black  ; 
belly  whitish  or  yellowish.  Bill  and  feet  dark.  Adult  female  : 
Upper  parts  and  sides  of  the  head  with  the  black  replaced  by 
brownish-olive,  with  black  streaks ;  the  flame-color  replaced  by 
yellow,  the*  white  area  on  the  wing-coverts  resolved  into  two 
bars,  and  that  on  the  outer  tail-feathers  less  extensive.  In  the 
autumn,  the  coloration  of  each  sex  is  still  further  toned  down ; 
and  young  birds  are  even  more  obscure  in  coloring,  bearing  little 
resemblance  to  the  adults  in  spring.  Length,  5.25-5.50 ;  extent, 
8.50;  wing,  2.75;  tail,  2.00. 

This  most  richly-tinted  of  all  the  Warblers  is  a 
summer  resident  in  New  England,  breeding  in  any 
suitable  situations,  but  more  sparingly  in  the  Alle- 
ghanian  and  Carolinian  than  in  the  Canadian  Fauna, 
which  latter  is  its  true  summer  home.  The  bird 
has  been  supposed  by  some  to  be  confined  to  north- 


D.    BLACKBURN^E  :    BLACKBURN'S    WARBLER.       135 

ern  New  England  in  the  breeding  season,  but  such 
proves  to  be  not  the  case.  In  Massachusetts,  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Allen,  some  remain  during  the  summer, 
from  among  the  large  numbers  that  pass  through 
in  migration,  and  a  similar  statement  is  offered  by 
Mr.  Minot ;  while  even  in  Connecticut,  says  Mr. 
Merriam,  "  a  few  sometimes  breed."  A  nest  found  by 
Mr.  Minot  near  Boston  was  built  in  a  thick  hemlock 
wood,  about  twenty  feet  from  the  ground ;  it  contained 
three  young  and  one  egg,  the  latter  measuring  0.65 
by  0.50,  and  resembling  that  of  the  Chestnut-sided 
Warbler,  in  being  white,  with  reddish-brown  and  lilac 
markings,  chiefly  about  the  larger  end.  The  nest  has 
been  described  by  Audubon  as  composed  externally  of 
various  substances,  internally  of  silky  fibres  and  fine 
shreds  of  bark,  lined  with  a  thick  bed  of  feathers  and 
hair.  At  Upton,  Me.,  where  the  bird  is  common  in 
summer,  it  frequents  the  higher  parts  of  coniferous  trees, 
where  its  nest  is  doubtless  placed,  but  so  concealed  by 
the  hanging  moss  as  to  be  hard  to  find.  At  all  times, 
the  Blackburnian  Warbler  prefers  high  open  woods, 
generally  disporting  and  foraging  among  the  upper 
branches  and  in  the  terminal  foliage.  Though  some- 
times seen  in  April,  it  is  usually  one  of  the  later  spring 
arrivals,  coming  about  the  second  week  in  May.  It  is 
extremely  abundant  some  seasons,  in  certain  localities, 
but  rare  other  years,  in  places  apparently  not  less  invit- 
ing. The  return  movement  begins  early  in  September, 
and  is  usually  accomplished  during  that  month,  though 
a  few  loiterers  may  be  found  in  southern  districts  for 
some  days  in  October.  The  nesting  appears  to  be  rather 
late,  as  young  birds  are  rarely  abroad  before  July. 
This  species  is  omitted  from  Dr.  Brewer's  list. 


136  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN   WARBLERS. 

BLACK-POLL  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  STRIATA     /^/-5/.    Bd. 


Chars.  Male,  adult  :  Above,  grayish-olive  streaked  with  black,  the 
crown  glossy  black  ;  below,  white,  with  a  chain  of  black  streaks 
from  chin  to  tail  ;  wings  dusky,  with  much  greenish  and  whitish 
edging,  and  two  white  cross-bars.  Tail  like  the  wings,  with 
rather  small  white  spots  on  two  or  three  outer  feathers.  Bill 
blackish  above  ;  lower  mandible  and  feet  pale  flesh-color  or  yel- 
lowish. Female  :  Similar,  but  crown  like  the  back,  the  under  parts 
tinged  with  greenish-yellow,  the  streaks  dusky  and  not  so  sharp 
as  in  the  male.  Young  :  "  Similar  to  the  adult  female,  but  brighter 
and  more  greenish-olive  above,  the  streakings  few,  and  mostly 
confined  to  the  middle  of  the  back  ;  below,  more  or  less  com- 
pletely tinged  with  greenish-yellow,  the  streaking  obsolete,  or 
entirely  wanting.  Under  tail-coverts  usually  pure  white.  These 
autumnal  birds  bear  an  extraordinary  resemblance  to  those  of 
D.  castanea  (though  the  adults  are  so  very  different),  the  upper 
parts  being,  in  fact,  the  same  in  both.  But  young  castanea  gen- 
erally show  traces  of  the  chestnut,  or  at  least  a  bufify  shade, 
quite  different  from  the  clear  greenish-olive  of  striata^  this  tint 
being  strongest  on  the  flanks  and  under  tail-coverts,  just  where 
striata  is  the  most  purely  white.  Moreover,  castanea  shows  no 
streaks  below,  traces  at  least  of  which  are  usually  observable  in 
striata"  (Cones.)  Length,  5.25-5.50  ;  extent,  9.00-9.25  ;  wing, 
2.75-2.90  ;  tail,  2.25. 

It  is  chiefly  as  a  spring  and  autumn  migrant  that 
the  Black-poll  is  known  in  New  England.  The  bird 
is  one  of  those  which  passes  very  far  north  to  breed, 
in  Labrador  and  Arctic  America,  only  a  few  individ- 
uals lingering  through  the  summer  in  northern  New 
England,  in  the  Canadian  Fauna  alone.  It  is  noted 
by  Prof.  Verrill  as  breeding  at  Umbagog,  and  by 
Mr.  Boardman  at  Calais,  Me.  Mr.  Maynard  did 
not  find  it  breeding  at  Upton,  where  it  disappeared 
early  in  June,  on  its  way  north.  But  young  birds 


DENDRCECA    STRIATA  I    BLACK-POLL    WARBLER.       137 

have  been  seen  at  North  Adams  in  August,  permitting 
the  inference  that  they  were  reared  in  that  locality. 
The  Black-poll  is  one  of  the  latest  rrrivals  in  spring, 
as  well  as  one  of  the  most  abundant  during  the  few 
days  occupied  in  transitu.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  seen 
in  Connecticut  before  the  middle  of  May,  and  is  not 
commonly  observed  in  Massa- 
chusetts until  the  third  or  fourth 
week  of  that  month  ;  disappear- 
ing entirely  during  the  opening 
days  of  June.  Returning  early 
in  September,  they  become  very 
numerous,  and  remain  so  until 

the      middle      Of     October,     When     FIG.  33.  — BLACK-POLL  WAR- 

there  is  a  sensible  decrease  in  BLER'  (Natural  size-} 
their  numbers,  though  all  do  not  leave  the  Connecticut 
valley  before  November.  They  are  to  be  found  in  any 
high  open  mixed  woods,  and  also  frequent  orchards 
and  gardens ;  but  they  show,  like  the  Black-throated 
Greens,  a  decided  preference  for  evergreen  forests. 
According  to  Dr.  Brewer's  observations,  made  at  East- 
po.t,  where  the  birds  were  found  to  be  very  numerous, 
and  the  low  swampy  woods  were  vocal  with  their  songs, 
several  nests  were  found  in  thick  spruce-trees,  about 
eight  feet  from  the  ground.  These  were  large  for  the 
size  of  the  bird,  being  five  inches  across  and  three  deep, 
with  thick  walls  and  little  cavity.  They  were  strongly 
and  compactly  built  of  the  terminal  twigs  of  coniferous 
trees,  woven  with  Cladonia  lichens,  slender  rootlets, 
and  fine  sedges,  and  lined  with  panicles  of  grass.  The 
number  of  eggs  in  every  case  was  five,  measuring  0.72 
by  0.50,  profusely  blotched  and  dotted  all  over  with 
reddish-brown,  purplish,  and  lavender. 


138  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

BAY-BREASTED  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  CASTANEA  (  Wils.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Adult  male  :  Back  grayish-olive,  thickly  streaked  with  black  ; 
forehead  and  sides  of  head  black,  enclosing  a  large  chestnut  patch  ; 
a  duller  shade  of  chestnut  occupies  the  whole  chin  and  throat, 
and  thence  extends,  more  or  less  interrupted  or  diluted,  along  the 
sides  of  the  body ;  other  under  parts  ochrey  or  buffy-whitish  ;  a 
similar  buffy  area  behind  ears  ;  wings  with  white  cross-bars,  and 
outer  tail-feathers  with  the  usual  white  blotches  ;  bill  and  feet 
blackish.  The  female  in  spring  is  similar,  but  more  plainly  oliva- 
ceous above  and  with  duller  or  more  restricted  chestnut  mark- 
ings. For  comparison  of  the  young  with  striata,  see  that  species. 
Size  of  striata. 

The  New  England  record  of  the  Bay-breast  coincides 
closely  with  that  established  for  the  Black-poll ;  but 
the  former  is  not  quite  so  late  a  migrant  in  spring  or 
fall,  and  is  more  irregular,  both  in  local  distribution 
and  in  apparent  abundance.  The  two  species  are 
alike  strictly  limited  in  their  southward  extension  in 
the  breeding  season  by  the  Canadian  Fauna ;  the  dif- 
ference in  breeding  range  being,  that  the  Bay-breasts 
are  limited  by  the  same  Fauna  in  their  northward  dis- 
persion in  summer,  while  the  Black-polls  pass  on  into 
the  Hudsonian.  The  consequence  is,  that  the  Bay- 
breasts  are  abundant  summer  residents  in  certain  por- 
tions of  northern  New  England,  while  the  Black-polls 
are  comparatively  rare  in  the  same  districts  at  such 
period.  The  more  southerly  summer  range  of  the 
Bay-breast  is  also  evident  by  the  fact,  stated  by  Minot, 
that  the  bird  has  been  seen  in  Massachusetts  in  June 
and  July.  Entering  the  Connecticut  valley  about  the 
second  week  in  May,  the  species  is  found  in  southern 


CASTANEA:  BAY-BREASTED  WARBLER.      139 

New  England  throughout  the  remainder  of  that  month, 
and  sometimes  for  a  few  days  in  June.  What  is  rather 
singular,  and  contrary  to  the  rule  with  Warblers,  these 
birds  appear  to  be  more  numerous  in  spring  than  in 
fall,  in  most  localities.  This  is  attested  by  several 
observers,  and  if  an  actual  fact,  would  argue  that  the 
return  movement  is  by  a  different  route  from  that  pur- 
sued in  the  spring  migration.  Mr.  Maynard  has  made 
out  such  a  case,  stating  that  the  birds  take  an  eccentric 
westerly  course  in  the  fall,  by  which  the  majority 
avoid  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  ;  the  spring  move- 
ment being  along  the  Atlantic  coast  and  up  the  Con- 
necticut valley,  generally  avoiding  eastern  Massachu- 
setts. Mr.  Merriam's  observations  in  Connecticut 
seem  to  support  this  theory.  He  states  that  the  bird 
is  sometimes  quite  abundant  during  the  spring  migra- 
tions, "  at  other  times  extremely  rare,  if  occurring 
at  all ;  "  and  considers  it  of  sufficient  importance  to 
note  the  few  instances  of  fall  occurrences  (Rev.  B. 
Conn.,  1877,  p.  16).  Mr.  Minot's  remarks  have  the 
same  tendency  :  he  says  the  birds  are  as  a  rule  rare  in 
eastern  Massachusetts  in  spring,  "  and  in  autumn  are 
never  seen"  (B.  N.  E.,  1877,0.  109).  Mr.  Allen, 
however,  with  reference  to  Massachusetts,  simply  says  : 
"  Common  spring  and  autumn  migrant,  varying  greatly 
in  abundance  in  different  years"  (Bull.  Essex  Inst., 
x,  1878,  p.  13). 

Mr.  C.  J.  Maynard  and  Mr.  Brewster  found  this 
species  the  "  most  abundant  of  the  Sylvicolidce  at  Um- 
bagog,"  and  the  former  has  given  a  full  account  of 
their  observations  on  the  nest  and  eggs  (Pr.  Bost. 
Soc.,  xiv,  1872,  p.  364).  Two  nests  were  taken  June 
8th ;  each  was  placed  on  the  horizontal  branch  of  a 


140  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN   WARBLERS. 

hemlock,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  from  the  ground;  one 
tree  being  on  the  side  of  a  thickly-wooded  hill,  the 
other  along  a  cart-path  in  the  woods.  The  nests  were 
large  in  comparison  with  size  of  the  bird,  being  5^ 
to  6  inches  across  outside,  by  2%  to  3  deep ;  with  a 
cavity  2^  to  3  in  diameter,  and  about  i|-  in  depth.  One 
of  these  nests  was  composed  of  small  larch-twigs  mixed 
with  a  little  tree-moss,  very  neatly  and  smoothly  lined 
with  black  fibrous  rootlets,  seed-stalks  of  ground- 
moss,  a  little  rabbit  fur,  and  a  bit  of  green  sphagnous 
moss.  The  other  was  quite  similar,  but  the  materials 
included  a  few  grass-stalks.  One  of  these  nests  con- 
tained three  eggs  and  the  other  two ;  in  the  latter 
case,  dissection  of  the  female  showed  that  two  more 
would  have  been  added.  These  eggs  measured  from 
0.65  to  0.71  in  length,  by  0.50  to  0-53  in  breadth, 
averaging  near  the  larger  dimensions  expressed  by 
these  figures.  The  ground-color  was  bluish-green,  in 
one  case  "thickly  spotted  with  brown  over  the  entire 
surface,  with  a  ring  of  nearly  confluent  blotches  of 
brown  and  lilac  at  the  larger  end."  The  others  were 
similar,  but  some  of  them  were  less  profusely  spotted, 
leaving  the  point  immaculate  in  some  cases ;  and  in 
others  there  were  a  few  umber  spots  or  brown  lines  at 
the  larger  end.  An  unidentified  nest,  obtained  by  Mr. 
R.  Deane  at  Umbagog  in  June,  1870,  was  found  on 
comparison  to  be  undoubtedly  of  this  species,  being 
constructed  in  the  same  manner,  though  placed  rather 
higher  in  a  hemlock.  This  contained  six  eggs,  the 
largest  of  which  measured  0.75  by  0.55.  It  was  a  neat, 
compact  structure,  of  larch-twigs,  tree-moss,  and  spi- 
ders' silk,  closely  interwoven,  and  lined  smoothly  with 
black  and  brown  fibrous  roots. 


D.  PENNSYLVANIA  :    CHESTNUT-SIDED  WARBLER.      14! 

CHESTNUT-SIDED  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  PENNSYLVANICA  (Z.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Male,  adult:  Back  streaked  with  black  and  pale  yellow 
(sometimes  ashy  or  whitish) ;  whole  crown  yellow,  bordered  with 
white,  then  enclosed  in  black  ;  sides  of  head  and  neck  and  entire 
under  parts  pure  white,  with  a  large  black  mark  on  the  former, 
and  a  chain  of  chestnut  streaks  along  the  sides  of  the  body. 
Wing- bars  white  or  yellowish,  generally  fused  in  one  large  patch  ; 
tail-feathers  blotched  with  white  ;  bill  blackish  ;  feet  brown.  Adult 
female  :  Similar,  less  highly  colored,  black  on  head  obscure  or 
wanting,  chestnut  streaks  thinner  or  fewer.  Young  :  Very  differ- 
ent ;  entire  upper  parts  clear  yellowish-green  ;  below,  entirely  pure 
white,  or  with  slight  traces  of  the  chestnut  streaks ;  no  distinct 
head-markings  ;  wing-bars  yellow ;  bill  light  below.  Length,  5.00- 
5.25  ;  wing,  2.50  ;  tail,  2.00. 

A  common  summer  resident  of  New  England  at 
large,  breeding  rather  more  numerously  in  the  Alle- 
ghanian  than  in  the  Cana- 
dian Fauna  ;  in  southern  New 
England,  nevertheless,  more 
abundant  during  the  migra- 
tions than  in  summer.  It  ar- 
rives the  first  week  in  May, 
and  is  generally  distributed 

by  the    middle    Of  that    month,      FiG.^34.- CHESTNUT-SIDED  WAR- 

in  open  mixed  woods,  thick-  BLER*   <Naturalsize-) 

ets,  orchards,  and  gardens.  The  return  movement 
occurs  in  September.  Being  most  active  and  most 
widely  diffused  during  migration,  and  frequenting  cul- 
tivated grounds  more  at  that  season  than  when  retired 
and  settled  for  the  summer,  it  is  more  conspicuous  a 
bird  in  spring  and  fall  than  in  the  breeding  months. 


142  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

"  The  nest  is  usually  coarser  than  that  of  the  Yellow 
Bird  (D.  (estiva),  and  contains  fewer  woolly  mate- 
rials. It  is  often  composed  outwardly  of  narrow  strips 
of  thin  bark  or  dried  grasses,  mixed  with  a  few  bits  of 
plant-down,  and  inwardly  of  very  fine  straw,  which  is 
lined  with  hairs.  Such  is  the  description  of  two  nests 
before  me.  The  nests  are  commonly  placed  from  two 
to  eight  feet  above  the  ground,  in  a  low  bush,  shrub, 
or  sapling,  and  are  either  built  in  a  fork  or  otherwise 
secured  (but  are  never  pensile).  The  situations  gen- 
erally chosen  are  the  '  scrub-lands,'  or  open  woods  in 
low  grounds  which  contain  bushes,  vines,  etc.  Near 
Boston  they  are  usually  finished,  and  contain  four  or 
five  fresh  eggs,  about  the  first  of  June.  The  eggs 
average  .68X-5O  of  an  inch,  and  are  generally  white 
with  purplish,  or  reddish-brown  spots  and  blotches, 
which  are  sometimes  confluent.  These  markings  are 
either  scattered  over  the  egg,  more  thickly  at  the  larger 
end  than  the  other,  or  are  grouped  in  a  ring  about  the 
crown."  (Minot,  B.  N.  E.,  1877,  p.  106.) 

According  to  Dr.  Brewer,  the  Chestnut-side  gener- 
ally builds  in  low,  swampy  places,  apart  from  culti- 
vated grounds.  A  number  of  nests  were  found  in  bar- 
berry bushes  about  East  Lynn,  by  Mr.  G.  O.  Welch. 
These  varied  from  3  to  4  inches  in  diameter  by  2^  to  3^ 
in  depth,  and  were  mostly  made  of  bark-strips,  strength- 
ened with  grass-stems,  lined  with  cottony  substances 
and  hair,  and  secured  to  the  supporting  twigs  by  silken 
threads  from  the  cocoons  of  insects.  Nests  found  in 
Vermont  by  Mr.  C.  S.  Paine  are  described  as  built  in 
the  forks  of  low  bushes,  3  to  5  feet  from  the  ground  ;  all 
of  the  many  specimens  examined  being  similar  in  struct- 
ure and  position.  (Hist.  N.  A.  B.,  i,  1874,  p.  247.) 


D.  MACULOSA  :    BLACK-AND-YELLOW   WARBLER.       143 

BLACK-AND-YELLOW  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  MACULOSA  (Gm.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Back  black,  quite  pure  or  with  olivaceous 
edgings  of  the  feathers  ;  rump  bright  yellow  ;  crown  clear  ash, 
bordered  on  the  sides  by  white,  framed  in  black,  there  being  a 
black  band  across  forehead  and  along  sides  of  head,  joining  that 
of  back,  enclosing  the  white  under  eyelid.  Entire  under  parts 
rich  yellow,  heavily  streaked  across  breast  and  along  sides  of 
body  with  black;  under  tail-coverts  white.  Wing-bars  white, 
usually  fused  in  one  large  patch  ;  tail-spots  white,  of  small  size 
and  rectangular  shape,  near  the  middle  of  all  the  feathers  except 
the  middle  pair.  Female  :  Similar,  mixed  black  and  olive-gray 
above,  the  head-markings  obscure,  the  pectoral  and  lateral  streaks 
smaller  and  fewer.  Young :  Above,  ashy-olive,  becoming  quite 
gray  on  the  head ;  no  head-markings,  and  no  streaks  below,  or 
but  few,  and  only  along  the  sides ;  recognized  by  conspicuously 
yellow  rump  and  under  parts,  and  small  square  spots  on  the  mid- 
dle of  the  tail-feathers.  Length,  4.75-5.00;  extent,  7.50;  wing, 
2.50;  tail,  2.00. 

This  is  a  dainty  little  bird,  one  of  the  most  dressy 
of  a  family  noted  for  the  richness  and  elegance  of  their 
attire.  Through  southern  New  England  it  passes  in 
spring  and  fall,  to  and  from  its  summer  home  in  the 
Canadian  Fauna.  A  few  may  linger  to  breed  in  the 
higher  parts  of  Massachusetts,  but  the  species  is  prac- 
tically restrained,  by  the  mysterious  instinct  which 
comes  into  play  in  all  such  cases,  from  nesting  south 
of  the  Fauna  just  named.  Entering  Connecticut  early 
in  May  in  large  numbers,  the  'Magnolias'  are  com- 
monly observed  throughout  that  month,  by  the  end  of 
which  they  have  passed  through  the  Carolinian  and 
Alleghanian  Faunae ;  they  are  scarcely  or  not  to  be 
seen  there  again  until  the  end  of  August,  and  not  in 
any  numbers  until  September,  during  the  whole  of 


144  SYI.VICOJ/ID^E  I    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

which  month  they  linger  before  final  departure  for 
their  southern  winter  resorts.  During  the  migrations 
they  are  generally  dispersed  in  all  kinds  of  woodland. 
We  have  several  excellent  advices  of  the  nesting  of 
this  species  in  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  from  Mr. 
Deane,  Mr.  Brewster,  Mr.  Maynard  and  others.  A 
particularly  good  account  of  the  bird's  habits  is  given 
by  Mr.  Brewster  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  ii,  1877,  pp.  1-7), 
who  found  breeders  on  Mount  Monadnock,  N.  H.,  and 
states  that  the  birds  are  everywhere  common  in  sum- 
mer on  the  White  Mountains.  The  nidification,  as 
witnessed  by  several  observers,  seems  to  be  very  con- 
stant in  method.  A  nest  taken  by  Mr.  Brewster,  at 

Umbagog,  June  8,  was  built 
in  a  low  hemlock,  about  four 
feet  from  the  ground,  —  a  light, 
airy  structure,  resembling  that 
of  the  Chestnut-sided  War- 
bler, composed  of  interlaced 
larch  twigs,  weed-stalks,  and 
grasses,  lined  with  black  horse- 

(Natural  size.) 

hair.     It  was  about  3  inches 

across  outside,  and  scarcely  2  in  depth,  with  a  cavity 
2  inches  in  diameter  and  only  i\  deep.  This  con- 
tained four  eggs,  from  0.62  to  0.65  long  by  0.46  to 
0.50  broad,  dull  white,  minutely  dotted  all  over  with 
brown,  and  wreathed  about  the  larger  end  with  brown 
and  clouded  lilac  spots  and  blotches.  Several  other 
nests,  described  by  Mr.  Maynard,  contained  four  eggs 
apiece,  and  were  all  alike  placed  in  small  hemlock  or 
spruce  trees,  a  few  feet  from  the  ground ;  their  com- 
position was  quite  similar,  but  sometimes  fine  black 
rootlets  replaced  the  horse-hair  lining,  or  moss  and 


DENDRCECA    TIGRINA  I    CAPE    MAY    WARBLER.        145 

spiders'  silk  were  added  to  the  materials  already  men- 
tioned. These  eggs  were  all  found  the  first  and  sec- 
ond weeks  in  June,  in  Maine.  We  may  judge  that 
a  second  brood  is  reared,  from  the  circumstance  that 
Mr.  N.  C.  Brown,  who  found  this  to  be  one  of  the 
commonest  summer  sylvicolines  about  Portland,  Me., 
says  that  the  young  make  their  appearance  about  Au- 
gust 3d,  and  soon  abound  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  Apr., 
1879,  P-  l66)- 


CAPE  MAY  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  TIGRINA  (Gm.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Back  yellowish-olive,  with  dark  markings  ; 
crown  blackish  ;  an  orange-brown  ear-patch  ;  a  black  loral  line  ; 
rump  rich  yellow ;  under  parts  the  same,  tinged  with  orange- 
brown  anteriorly,  pale  on  belly  and  under  tail-coverts,  streaked 
with  black  on  the  breast  and  sides  ;  wing-bars  fused  into  one 
large  patch  ;  three  pairs  of  large  white  tail-blotches  ;  bill  and 
feet  black.  Female:  Somewhat  similar, lacking  distinctive  head- 
markings,  with  smaller  wing-patch  and  tail-blotches,  paler  under 
parts,  and  fewer  black  streaks.  Young :  "  An  insignificant-look- 
ing bird,  resembling  an  over-grown  Ruby-crowned  Kinglet,  with- 
out its  crest ;  obscure  greenish-olive  above,  rump  olive-yellow, 
under  parts  yellowish-white ;  breast  and  sides  with  the  streaks 
obscure  or  obsolete  ;  little  or  no  white  on  wings,  which  are  edged 
with  yellowish  ;  tail-spots  very  small."  (Cottes.}  Length,  5.00- 
5.20  ;  extent,  7.75  ;  wing,  2.50;  tail,  1.75  ;  bill,  0.38  ;  tarsus,  0.62. 

This  is  another  exquisite,  resembling  the  Magnolia 
in  its  yellow  rump  and  yellow,  black-striped  under 
parts,  but  easily  distinguished  by  the  head-markings, 
especially  the  orange-brown  auriculars ;  and  possess- 
ing the  additional  charm  of  rarity  in  most  parts  of 
New  England.  The  manner  of  its  presence  here  is 
10 


146  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

as  nearly  as  possible  the  same  as  that  of  the  Black- 
and-yellow  Warbler,  excepting  that  the  latter  is  com- 
mon, while  the  Cape  May  is  rare  enough  to  be  justly 
regarded  by  the  collector  as  a  prize  wherever  taken, 
unless  it  be  in  the  rather  restricted  areas  where  num- 
bers pass  the  summer.  I  am  inclined  to  doubt  that 
the  Cape  May  has  ever  been  known  to  breed  in 
Massachusetts,  or  thence  southward  in  New  England ; 
a  record  to  such  effect,  given  by  Minot,  being  perhaps 
open  to  the  suspicion  that  a  nest  and  eggs  of  D.  astiva 
had  been  unwittingly  taken  for  those  of  the  rarer  spe- 
cies. It  jenters  New  England  with  the  Magnolias,  and 
its  periods  of  migration  are  the  same  ;  some  years,  and 
in  some  localities,  it  is  more  frequently  observed  than 
at  other  times  and  places.  In  the  spring  of  1872  I  took 
a  female  at  Amherst,  and  saw  another.  Mr.  Sidney 
Dickinson  secured  a  male  and  observed  another  indi- 
vidual the  same  year.  In  1873  I  shot  a  full-plumaged 
male,  and  heard  of  others  that  were  taken  —  all  upon 
apple-trees  in  orchards  excepting  one,  which  was 
secured  in  a  small  oak  grove.  These  occurrences 
were  between  the  loth  and  i5th  of  May.  Mr.  Allen 
has  obtained  it  at  Springfield.  According  to  Mr.  Mer- 
riam,  a  few  are  taken  in  Connecticut  each  season,  and 
it  was  not  an  uncommon  bird  about  Suffield  in  1876. 
It  is  said  by  Mr.  Maynard  to  be  common  at  Umbagog, 
in  thick  evergreen  woods,  where  it  keeps  in  the  tops 
of  the  trees,  and  doubtless  nests  high  up  in  the  im- 
mense spruces  and  hemlocks  of  that  vicinity ;  for 
females  taken  the  second  week  in  June  bore  marks  of 
incubation.  A  nest  found  by  Mr.  H.  B.  Bailey  on  the 
Richardson  Lakes,  in  northwestern  Maine,  was  how- 
ever in  a  low  spruce,  less  than  five  feet  from  the 


DENDRCECA    DISCOLOR  I    PRAIRIE    WARBLER.       147 

ground;  it  contained  one  egg.  At  Calais,  Me.,  ac- 
cording to  the  excellent  authority  of  Mr.  Boardman, 
the  bird  is  a  common  summer  resident,  and  breeds. 
The  eggs  have  been  described  as  measuring  0.70  by 
0.65  of  an  inch ;  with  a  bluish-white  ground,  with 
purplish  and  brownish  blotches  of  several  shades, 
chiefly  wreathed  about  the  larger  end. 


PRAIRIE  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  DISCOLOR  (  F.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Above,  yellow-olive,  the  back  with  a  patch  of  brick-red 
spots ;  forehead,  line  over  eye,  two  wing-bars,  and  entire  under 
parts  rich  yellow  ;  side  of  head  with  a  V-shaped  black  mark,  con- 
necting with  a  chain  of  black  streaks  along  the  whole  side  of  the 
neck  and  body  ;  very  large  white  tail-blotches  occupying  most  of 
the  inner  web  of  the  outer  feathers.  Sexes  almost  exactly  alike. 
Young :  Similar,  the  markings  of  the  back  and  head  less  decided, 
or  wanting.  Small :  length,  4.75-5.00  ;  extent,  7.00  ;  wing,  2.25  ; 
tail,  2.00. 

Differing  decidedly  from  most  of  the  Wood  Warblers 
in  distribution,  especially  in  the  breeding  season,  this 
very  neat  and  diminutive  species  is  limited  northward 
in  summer  by  the  Alleghanian  Fauna,  and  is  hence 
seldom  if  ever  found  beyond  Massachusetts.  Mr. 
Minot  has  indeed  recorded  a  nest,  found  in  northern 
New  Hampshire,  as  that  of  the  Prairie  Warbler  (Am. 
Nat.,  ix,  1875,  p.  520)  ;  but  as  he  makes  no  allusion 
to  it  in  his  later  work,  the  presumption  is  that  there 
was  some  mistake.  The  bird  enters  New  England 
early  in  May,  and  departs  about  the  middle  of  Septem- 
ber. It  frequents  low,  scrubby  woods,  old  fields  and 


148  SYLVICOLID^E  I    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

pastures  grown  up  to  shrubbery,  or  patches  of  cedar 
and  thickets  of  young  pines.  It  is  one  of  the  most  shy 
and  retiring  of  the  Warblers  —  one  which  would  usu- 
ally be  passed  unnoticed,  were  it  not  for  its  habit  of 
incessantly  darting  into  the  air  to  capture  passing  in- 
sects, and  for  the  very  quaint  and  characteristic  sounds 
it  utters  while  snugly  concealed  in  the  shrubbery. 
The  note  is  a  monotonous  and  prolonged  reiteration  of 
single  notes,  rising  in  the  scale  from  beginning  to  end, 
and  growing  louder  and  faster  as  it  proceeds.  The 
nest  is  placed  in  some  bush  or  sapling  growing  in  such 
resorts  as  I  have  indicated,  usually  a  man's  height 
or  less  from  the  ground.  Several  specimens  obtained 
in  Massachusetts  are  described  by  Dr.  Brewer  as 
being  neat,  compact,  and  elaborately  woven  struc- 
tures, about  2-|-  inches  across  outside,  with  a  cavity  of 
2  by  i  J  inches ;  composed  of  soft  inner  bark,  and 
other  woody  fibres,  small  leaves  and  plant-stems,  plant- 
down,  cocoons,  and  cobwebs,  bound  with  cottony 
fibres  and  lined  with  horse-hairs,  very  fine  plant-stems, 
and  sometimes  feathers.  The  eggs  are  said  to  be 
usually  3  or  4  in  number,  sometimes  as  many  as  6 ; 
measuring  about  0.65  by  0.50  ;  they  are  white,  marked 
with  lilac,  purplish  and  different  shades  of  brown  spots, 
mostly  wreathing  about  the  larger  end.  In  New 
England  the  eggs  are  usually  laid  the  first  week  in 
June,  and  not  improbably  a  second  set  may  be  depos- 
ited in  July.  In  the  Southern  States,  where  the  Prai- 
rie Warbler  is  abundant  in  some  places  during  the 
summer,  eggs  have  been  found  from  the  first  of  May 
until  the  second  week  in  June.  In  the  southward  ex- 
tent of  its  breeding  range,  the  species  differs  from  most 
of  its  congeners. 


D.   DOMINICA  :    YELLOW-THROATED    WARBLER.       149 

YELLOW-THROATED  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  DOMINICA  (L.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  "  Upper  parts  uniform  grayish-blue.  Chin  and 
throat  bright  yellow;  under  parts  white.  Forehead,  and  some- 
times most  of  crown,  lores,  and  cheeks,  sides  of  throat,  and  nu- 
merous streaks  on  the  sides  of  the  breast,  black.  A  stripe  from 
the  nostrils  over  and  behind  the  eye,  a  crescent  on  the  lower  eye- 
lid, the  sides  of  the  neck  behind  the  black  cheek-patch,  and  two 
conspicuous  bands  on  the  wings,  white.  Terminal  half  of  the 
outer  two,  and  terminal  third  of  the  third  tail-feathers,  white. 
Female  almost  precisely  similar.  Length,  5.10  ;  wing,  2.60;  tail, 
2.30."  (Baird.) 

A  very  rare  and  casual  visitor  to  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts.  The  earlier  records  of  this  species  in 
New  England  are  unsatisfactory,  and  not  to  be  relied 
upon.  (Cf.  Coues,  Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  v,  1868,  p.  270; 
Birds  Northwest,  1874,  p.  66;  Merriam,  Rev.  B. 
Conn.,  1877,  p.  17.)  We  have,  however,  authentic 
advices  of  later  date.  Mr.  Merriam  says  (/.  c.)  :  "A 
rare  accidental  visitor  from  the  South.  Dr.  Daniel 
Crary,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  writes  me,  that  during 
fifteen  years  of  bird  collecting  in  that  vicinity  (in  the 
Connecticut  valley),  he  has  secured  several  specimens 
of  this  rare  species.  Dr.  E.  L.  R.  Thompson  also 
assures  me  that  he  has  seen  it  about  New  Haven." 
Again,  Mr.  H.  A.  Purdie  mentions  a  specimen  cap- 
tured by  Mr.  G.  E.  Browne,  of  Dedham,  Mass.,  "on 
the  banks  of  Charles  River  in  that  town  nine  or  ten 
years  ago"  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iii,  1878,  p.  146).  The 
bird  really  belongs  to  the  South  Atlantic  States,  being 
rarely  seen  even  in  the  Middle  States,  though  recorded 
by  Mr.  Lawrence  in  his  New  York  list. 


150  SYLVICOLID^E  I    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

YELLOW  RED-POLL  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  PALMARUM  (Gm.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Adult :  Above,  brownish-olive,  rump  and  upper  tail-coverts 
brighter  yellowish-olive,  back  with  slightly  dusky  streaks  ;  crown 
chestnut-red  ;  line  over  eye  and  entire  under  parts  rich  yellow, 
the  breast  and  sides  with  orange-brown  streaks,  as  in  D.  cestiva; 
no  white  wing-bars  ;  square  white  tail-spots  at  very  end  of  only 
the  two  outer  pairs  of  feathers.  Young:  An  obscure  dingy-look- 
ing bird,  quite  brownish  above,  like  a  young  Yellow-rump  ;  but 
upper  tail-coverts  not  pure  yellow,  and  under  tail-coverts  often 
quite  brightly  yellow,  in  contrast  with  the  dingy  yellowish  or 
whitish  of  other  under  parts  ;  generally  a  trace  at  least  of  chest- 
nut on  the  crown  ;  no  white  on  wings  ;  tail-spots  peculiar,  as  in 
the  adult.  Length,  5.25  ;  extent,  8.25  ;  wing,  2.50  ;  tail,  2.25. 

Note.  On  geographical  variation  in  Dendrceca  palmaruin,  with 
description  of  a  new  variety,  hypochrysea,  and  on  the  occurrence 
of  the  western  variety  in  New  England,  see  Ridgway,  Bull. 
Nutt.  Club,  i.  1876,  p.  8 1  ;  Deane,  ibid.,  1879,  pp.  60  and  186.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Ridgway,  his  new  variety  is  the  ordinary  bird  of 
New  England,  where  typical  paltnanun  is  rare. 

The  Red-poll  differs  decidedly  from  any  other  War- 
bler in  the  manner  and  character  of  its  presence  in 
New  England,  and  conspicuously  in  habits.  It  comes 
to  us  the  earliest  of  all  excepting  the  Pine-creeping, 
and  stays  later  than  any  other  excepting  the  Yellow- 
rump,  of  course,  which  remains  all  winter.  It  nests 
on  the  ground,  unlike  any  other  Dcndrceca  ;  is  quite 
terrestrial  in  habits,  like  a  Titlark,  for  example,  and 
haunts  fields  and  roadsides,  often  in  company  with 
troops  of  Sparrows  ;  the  anomalous  combination  being 
heightened  by  certain  Flycatcher-like  actions,  which 
are  highly  characteristic  of  this  interesting  bird.  It 
reaches  New  England  early  in  April,  or  at  furthest  by 


D.   PALMARUM  :    YELLOW    RED-POLL    WARBLER. 

the  middle  of  that  month,  and  passes  on  with  little 
delay  through  the  Alleghanian  Fauna,  being  scarcely 
seen  in  Massachusetts  after  the  first  few  days  in  May. 
Returning  in  September,  it  lingers  leisurely  through 
that  month,  all  of  October,  and  part  of  November, 
before  taking  its  final  departure.  Like  the  Pine- 
creeping  and  Yellow-rump,  it  is  a  Warbler  which 
may  be  associated  with  frozen  ground  and  snow- 
storms, and  there  is  just  a  suspicion  that  it  may  be 
found,  at  times,  the  winter  through.  Thus  Mr.  Mer- 
riam  :  "  Along  with  D.  -pinus  and  D.  coronata  it  may 
be  seen,  in  spring,  long  before  the  hosts  of  other  War- 
blers make  their  appearance.  It  is  also  one  of  the  last 
to  depart  in  the  fall,  at  which  time  it  is  found  along 
fences,  and  among  low  bushes,  by  the  roadside,  and  in 
open  fields.  In  early  spring,  before  the  snow  has  quite 
all  disappeared,  large  numbers  of  them  may  some- 
times be  seen,  in  company  with  the  English  Spar- 
rows, running  about  on  the  plots  of  bare  ground,  and 
the  roots  of  the  elm-trees,  on  the  City  Green,  in  the 
heart  of  New  Haven.  In  fact,  they  seem  to  pay  but 
little  attention  to  the  weather,  as  may  be,  seen  from  the 
circumstance  that  they  were  really  abundant  on  the 
i8th  of  April,  1875,  at  a  time  when  the  ground  was 
covered  with  snow  nearly  a  foot  deep,  with  only  here 
and  there  a  bare  spot ;  while  none  were  seen  this  sea- 
son (1877)  till  April  I3th,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  ground  had  been  bare  since  the  latter  part  of 
March,  and  the  weather  unusually  mild."  (Rev.  B. 
Conn.,  1877,  p.  18.) 

The  species  breeds  for  the  most  part  far  to  the  north, 
and  is  entirely  restricted  southward  in  the  nesting  sea- 
son by  the  Canadian  Fauna ;  being  so  rare  in  sum- 


152  SYLVICOLID^E  I    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

mer,  even  in  most  parts  of  northern  New  England, 
that  we  long  lacked  authentic  advice  of  its  breeding  in 
our  limits.  Mr.  Boardman,  however,  calls  it  one  of 
the  common  Warblers  at  St.  Stephen's,  N.  B.,  on  the 
border  of  Maine,  where  it  breeds.  A  nest  and  eggs 
collected  by  him  have  been  described  as  follows : 
"The  nest  .was  placed  on  the  ground.  It  is  constructed 
loosely,  first  of  stalks  of  weeds  and  grasses,  then  are 
laid  pieces  of  moss,  caterpillars'  silk,  fine  grasses,  and 
hairs,  and  the  whole  is  deeply  hollowed,  and  lined 
with  fine  roots  and  pine  leaves.  Two  eggs  in  the  nest 
are  of  a  delicate  white,  with  a  faint  roseate  tint;  they 
are  marked  at  the  larger  end  with  fine  spots  and 
blotches  of  reddish-brown.  They  are  about  the  size 
of  the  eggs  of  the  Blue  Yellow-backed  Warbler,  being 
.61  by  .50  and  .62  by  .51  of  an  inch." 


PINE-CREEPING  WARBLER. 
DENDRCECA  PINUS  (  Wils.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Above,  uniform  yellow-olive  ;  below,  yellow,  shaded  on  the 
sides,  paler  or  white  on  belly  and  under  tail-coverts  ;  supraciliary 
line  yellow;  wing-bars  white;  tail-blotches  large,  oblique,  con- 
fined to  two  outer  pairs  of  feathers.  The  female  and  young  are 
similar,  but  duller  colored ;  sometimes  merely  olive-gray  above, 
and  dingy  white  below  ;  and  in  such  state  the  species  is  the  most 
sordid-looking  of  the  Warblers,  without  any  special  body-mark- 
ings, but  with  a  light  supraciliary  line,  wing-bars,  and  the  peculiar 
tail-spots.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  species,  5.50  to  nearly  6  inches 
long;  extent,  8.50  or  more;  wing,  3.00-3.25  ;  tail,  2.25  ;  bill, 
0.42  ;  tarsus,  0.70. 

This  is  a  large,  plain  bird,  for  a  member  of  the 
Warbler  family,  with  little  of  the  delicacy  and  orna- 


DENDRCECA   PINUS  :    PINE-CREEPING    WARBLER.       153 

ment  for  which  most  of  its  relatives  are  so  justly  famed. 
Like  the  species  last  described,  it  is  notable  for  .the 
promptness  with  which  it  leads  the  van  of  the  Warbler 
hosts  in  spring.  It  sometimes  enters  New  England 
even  in  March,  and  has  been  seen  near  Boston  on  the 
1st  of  April ;  while  it  is  frequently  to  be  observed  early 
in  the  latter  month,  when  the  ground  is  always  liable 
to  be  covered  with  snow.  Not  like  the  Red-polls, 
however,  which  seem  to  be  anxious  to  get  a  good  start 
on  their  way  far  north,  the  Pine-creepers  linger  so 
readily  to  breed  in  any  part  of  New  England,  that  we 
wonder  what  makes  them  in  such  a  hurry  to  get  there. 
There  seems  to  be  no  reason  for  their  haste,  particu- 
larly as  they  are  birds  which  breed  all  along  the  At- 
lantic coast  of  the  United  States,  at  least  as  far  south 
as  the  Carolinas.  Their  character  of  "  early  birds  " 
indeed  is  further  attested  by  the  fact  that  in  South 
Carolina  the  eggs  are  laid  in  March,  and  young  are 
abroad  by  the  second  week  in  April.  The  same  pre- 
cipitation marks  their  autumnal  movements ;  for  they 
nearly  all  leave  New  England  in  September,  seldom 
lingering  into  October,  and  never,  like  the  Red-polls 
and  Yellow-rumps,  taking  their  chances  of  November 
weather. 

These  rather  curious  birds,  so  marked  in  their  traits 
of  character,  are  greatly  attached  to  the  coniferous 
trees  to  which  they  owe  their  name,  being  seldom 
found  in  any  other  than  evergreen  woods,  even  when 
not  breeding ;  and  the  nest  is  almost  infallibly  placed 
in  the  pines  or  cedars.  Their  summer  range  in  New 
England  is  rather  characteristic  of  the  Alleghanian 
than  of  the  Canadian  Fauna,  and  the  species  is  hence 
more  numerously  represented  in  Massachusetts  and 


154  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN   WARBLERS. 

southward  than  in  the  recesses  of  northern  forests. 
The  nidification  of  the  Pine-creeper  is  described  as 
essentially  like  that  of  the  Black-throated  Green  War- 
bler, but  the  nest  is  built  much  earlier  —  some  time 
during  May,  and  the  eggs  are  usually  laid  before 
the  ist  of  June.  These  are  commonly  4  in  number, 
measuring  about  0.70  long  by  0.52  broad;  they  are 
white,  pink-tinted,  and  spotted  with  different  shades 
of  reddish-brown,  and  with  lilaceous  shell-markings, 
tending  to  aggregate  at  and  near  the  greater  end. 

In  its  habits  this  bird  shows  a  combination  of  War- 
bler, Creeper,  and  Flycatcher  traits,  with  some  others 
scarcely  shown  by  any  Dendroeca  excepting  the  Red- 
poll. It  is  fond  of  scrambling  about  the  trunks  and 
larger  limbs  of  the  pines,  like  a  Nuthatch,  at  times 
sallying  after  flying  insects,  at  others  descending  to 
forage  upon  the  ground.  Thus  Mr.  Merriam  speaks 
of  its  being  frequently  seen  in  the  City  Green  in  New 
Haven,  hopping  over  the  ground  with  the  Red-polls 
and  English  Sparrows,  and  running  up  and  down  the 
trunks  of  the  elms ;  and  Mr.  Minot  has  observed  the 
same  thing.  When  not  breeding  it  is  somewhat  gre- 
garious, often  collecting  in  troops,  and  associating  with 
Red-polls  and  Yellow-rumps,  as  well  as  with  various 
other  small  birds.  The  song  is  simply  a  succession 
of  trilled  notes,  all  pitched  in  a  single  key,  and  deliv- 
ered in  a  listless  manner,  as  if  the  performer  cared 
little  for  effect.  Nearly  all  our  "Warblers,"  in  fact, 
are  misnamed,  if  we  are  to  take  the  term  as  any  indi- 
cation of  proficiency  in  that  kind  of  vocalization  which 
we  commonly  call  "  warbling." 


SIURUS    AURICAPILLUS  :    OVEN-BIRD.  155 

GOLDEN-CROWNED  ACCENTOR ;  OVEN-BIRD. 

SlURUS    AURICAPILLUS    (Z.)    S?U. 

Chars.  Above,  uniform  olive-green,  the  crown  with  an  orange- 
brown  patch  bordered  with  black  stripes  ;  no  light  supraciliary 
line  ;  below,  pure  white,  thickly  spotted  with  dusky  on  the  breast 
and  sides;  wings  and  tail  like  back,  unmarked;  under  wing- 
coverts  tinged  with  yellow ;  a  white  eye-ring ;  legs  flesh-color. 
Differs  little  with  sex  or  age.  Length,  5.50-6.50 ;  extent,  9.50  ; 
wing,  3.00  ;  tail,  2.70  ;  bill,  0.50  ;  tarsus,  0.85. 

The  pretty  and  engaging  w  Oven-bird,"  so  called 
from  the  way  it  has  of  roofing  over  its  nest,  is  a  com- 
mon summer  resident  of  New  England,  perhaps  more 
abundant  in  southern  por- 
tions than  in  the  recesses 
of  the  northern  woods  and 
mountains.  It  arrives  the 
last  of  April,  and  usually 
reaches  Massachusetts  the 
first  week  in  May;  all 

through   which    month    the     FIG.    36. -GOLDEN-CROWNED  ACCENTOR. 

(Natural  size.) 

woods   and    thickets    echo 

to  the  loud  accelerated  chant  with  which  the  bird 
proclaims  the  nuptial  season.  So  incessantly  and 
obtrusively  are  these  monotonous  notes  given  forth, 
that  the  luxurious  song  of  the  mating  pairs  long 
remained  unknown  to  naturalists,  and  the  bird  was 
denied  that  reputation  of  eminent  musical  ability  to 
which  it  is  not  less  entitled  than  the  Louisiana  Water 
Thrush  itself.  The  shrill  wee-chee  ivee-chee  may  be 
heard  almost  any  time  during  the  summer  while  the  birds 
are  breeding,  but  the  real  song  is  probably  only  uttered 
during  the  pairing  time.  The  birds  linger  in  their 


156  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

accustomed  haunts  all  through  the  summer,  passing 
southward  in  September  and  October,  by  the  middle 
of  which  month  all  have  left  our  country  —  they  are 
rather  delicate  creatures,  which  would  fare  sadly  in 
the  severities  of  a  New  England  November.  The  nest 
is  placed  on  the  ground,  usually  in  dry,  leafy  woods, 
but  sometimes  in  low  moist  places;  but  they  are  not 
very  particular  in  this  respect,  and  may  be  seen  ram- 
bling daintily  over  the  ground,  among  the  fallen  leaves, 
in  almost  any  kind  of  cover.  They  walk  very  prettily, 
with  a  certain  nonchalance,  as  if  only  sauntering  for 
their  amusement ;  now  furtively  examining  the  path- 
way in  search  of  food,  now  turning  a  curious  but  quiet 
eye  upon  an  intruder ;  and  when  alarmed  fly  directly 
to  some  low  perch  in  a  tree,  where  they  sit  in  silent 
but  watchful  purpose.  The  nest  is  often  but  not  always 
roofed  over,  as  already  said  ;  it  is  a  rather  bulky  struct- 
ure of  dried  leaves  and  grasses,  lined  with  hairs  or 
fine  grass-stems.  Though  artfully  hidden,  it  is  often 
found  to  contain  the  Cow-bird's  egg.  The  eggs  are 
usually  four  in  number,  sometimes  five,  and  I  have 
found  six  in  the  nest ;  they  are  pure  white  or  slightly 
creamy,  more  or  less  thickly  and  uniformly  covered 
with  reddish-brown  surface-spots  and  lilac  shell-mark- 
ings —  the  whole  surface  being  sometimes  dotted, 
though  the  spots,  particularly  the  larger  ones,  tend  to 
aggregate  at  or  about  the  larger  end.  The  eggs  vary 
in  size  from  0.80  to  0.90  in  length  by  0.60  to  0.70  in 
breadth,  and  are  usually  to  be  found  early  in  June. 
After  a  very  brief  interval  the  young  birds  put  on  a 
livery  so  nearly  like  that  of  the  parents,  that  it  is  not 
always  easy  to  distinguish  them. 


SIURUS    N^EVIUS  :    NEW    YORK    ACCENTOR.         157 

NEW  YORK  ACCENTOR ;  WATER  THRUSH. 
SIURUS  N^EVIUS  (Bodd.)  Coues. 

Chars.  Above,  dark  olive-brown,  quite  uniform  over  all  the  upper 
parts,  including  the  crown  ;  supraciliary  line  and  entire  under 
parts  whitish,  or  pale  sulphury-yellow,  without  any  buffy  tinge, 
thickly  and  sharply  spotted  with  the  color  of  the  back,  except  on 
the  lower  belly  and  under  tail-coverts  ;  no  markings  on  wings  or 
tail ;  feet  dark.  Sexes  alike,  and  young  similar.  Length,  5.50- 
6.00  ;  extent,  8.50  ;  wing,  2.75  ;  tail,  2.25  ;  bill  scarcely  or  not  0.50. 

Being  a  species  of  the  widest  distribution  in  North 
America,  the  Water  Thrush  is  found  in  all  suitable 
situations  in  New  England,  where  it  is  a  summer  resi- 
dent, and  more  or  less  abundant  according  to  cir- 
cumstances in  no  way  connected  with  geographical  or 
Faunal  areas.  Unlike  the  chorister  at  whose  haunts 
and  habits  we  have  just  glanced,  the  Water  Thrush 
claims  rightfully  such  name  by  its  fondness  for  the 
liquid  element,  being  most  at  home  in  the  swamp, 
the  bog,  the  tangled  brake,  whose  recesses  we  cannot 
penetrate  without  fatiguing  exertion.  It  is  probably 
on  account  of  such  partiality  that  the  bird  is  more 
abundant  in  summer  in  the  sphagnous  swamps  and 
gloomy  woods  of  northern  New  England  than  in  other 
parts  of  this  country.  When  on  its  way  to  and  from 
such  resorts,  it  may  be  found  more  at  large  about  the 
pools  in  any  wet  woodland,  but  it  seldom  if  ever 
nests  except  in  the  situations  described.  Upon  the 
ground  or  its  equivalent  is  built  a  bulky  nest  of 
mosses,  especially  the  Hypnum,  mixed  with  more  or 
fewer  leaves  and  grasses,  and  lined  with  slender  root- 
lets ;  the  different  colors  of  these  materials  sometimes 
contrasting  finely  with  each  other  and  with  the  crys- 


158  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN   WARBLERS.' 

tal  purity  of  the  eggs.  The  latter  are  from  four  to  six 
in  number,  brilliantly  white,  marked  with  reddish- 
brown,  darker  brown,  and  lilac  spots,  sometimes  pro- 
fusely and  evenly  distributed  over  the  whole  surface, 
when  they  are  mostly  mere  dots,  sometimes  larger 
spots  being  confluently  wreathed  at  or  about  the  greater 
end  of  the  egg.  Specimens  measure  from  0.75  to  0.83 
in  length  by  0.58  to  0.60  in  breadth.  They  are  laid 
early  in  June.  The  different  nature  of  its  haunts  aside, 
the  Water  Thrush  has  much  in  common  with  the 
Oven-bird  in  its  habits  and  traits  ;  its  song  is  loud,  clear 
and  melodious,  and  nothing  like  the  peculiar  chant  of 
the  Oven-bird  is  heard  from  this  shy  recluse  of  the 
swamp.  It  walks  very  prettily  over  the  ground  with 
mincing  steps,  frequently  arrested  to  indulge  its  charac- 
teristic habit  of  see-sawing  the  tail  like  a  Titlark  or 
Spotted  Sandpiper ;  and  is  ready  at  a  moment's  alarm 
to  disappear  on  rapid  wing  in  the  fastness  of  the 
swamp.  Though  it  comes  to  us  in  the  spring  at  about 
the  same  time  that  the  Golden-crown  arrives,  it  lin- 
gers later  in  the  fall,  not  taking  final  departure  until 
the  latter  part  of  October. 


LARGE-BILLED  ACCENTOR;   LOUISIANA 
WATER  THRUSH. 

SlURUS    MOTACILLA    (  F.)     CoU6S. 

Chars.  Like  the  last  species  ;  larger,  averaging  about  6.00  in  length, 
the  wing  3.00,  the  bill  especially  larger  —  over  0.50  in  length  ;  tar- 
sus nearly  i.oo.  Under  parts  white,  more  or  less  tinged  with 
buff,  especially  posteriorly,  but  never  sulphury-yellow  ;  the  streaks 
sparse,  pale,  and  not  very  sharp,  leaving  throat,  belly,  and  cris- 
sum  unmarked  ;  feet  pale. 


S.    MOTACILLA  :    LARGE-BILLED    ACCENTOR.       159 

Dr.  Coues  formerly  spoke  of  this  species  as  one 
which  "  doubtless  occurs  in  summer,  although  it  has 
never,  I  believe,  been  actually  detected  in  New  Eng- 
land" (Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  v,  1868,  p.  271);  citing  in 
support  of  his  views  the  occurrence  of  the  bird  near 
New  York  as  recorded  by  Mr.  Lawrence  (Ann.  Lye. 
N.  Y.,  viii,  1866,  p.  284).  The  pertinence  of  this  in- 
ference has  since  become  evident.  The  bird  is  prop- 
erly one  of  the  Carolinian  Fauna,  reaching  its  normal 
northern  limit  in  the  lower  Connecticut  valley,  where 
it  breeds  in  some  numbers  ;  but  it  has  also  been  known 
to  occur  considerably  further  north.  In  his  "Notes 
on  the  Rarer  Birds  of  Massachusetts"  (Am.  Nat.,  iii, 
1870,  p.  577),  Mr.  Allen  records  the  capture  of  a 
specimen  on  Mount  Tom,  April  28,  1869.  The  bird 
has  also  been  taken  in  Maine  ;  at  Norway,  in  May, 
1865,  by  Mr.  Irving  Frost,  and  at  Waterville,  the  same 
year,  by  Prof.  Hamlin.  In  Connecticut  it  is  a  regu- 
lar summer  visitant,  breeding  in  considerable  numbers 
in  that  State.  Mr.  Ernest  Ingersoll  found  the  first 
nest  to  be  recorded  for  New  England,  at  Norwich, 
Conn.,  in  June,  1873.  It  was  sunk  in  the  ground  at 
the  foot  of  a  large  tree,  concealed  by  the  roots,  and 
contained  four  fresh  eggs.  These  measured  0.75  to 
0.80  in  length  by  0.60  to  0.62  in  breadth,  and  were 
white  with  a  rosy  tint,  dotted  and  with  a  few  zigzag 
markings  of  two  shades  of  reddish-brown,  umber,  and 
lilac.  These  eggs  were  more  nearly  spherical  than 
those  of  the  Oven-bird,  with  a  more  polished  crystal- 
line surface,  and  more  distinct  markings.  Mr.  Jencks 
has  found  the  bird  in  several  instances  in  Rhode  Island, 
as  recorded  by  Mr.  Deane  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v,  1880, 
p.  116).  For  southern  Connecticut,  as  Mr.  Merriam 


l6o  SYLVICOLID^E  !    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

says,  the  facts  have  become  so  well  established  that  it 
would  be  superfluous  to  cite  all  the  recorded  instances 
of  its  capture.  I  may,  however,  refer  to  Mr.  Purdie's 
observations  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  i,  1876,  p.  73,  and  ii, 
1877,  p.  16),  as  well  as  to  Mr.  Merriam's  own  (Rev.  B. 
Conn.,  1877,  p.  20).  The  last-named  writer  speaks  of 
the  earliness  of  the  bird  both  in  arriving  and  in  nest- 
ing ;  having  observed  it  on  the  27th  of  April,  and  been 
informed  that  an  individual  shot  May  i7th  was  about 
to  deposit  an  egg.  Mr.  J.  N.  Clark,  of  Saybrook,  in- 
forms me  that  he  has  taken  two  nests,  one  with  five 
and  the  other  with  six  eggs,  besides  finding  some 
containing  young,  which  latter  are  usually  hatched 
before  May  25th.  The  favorite  nesting-site,  accord- 
ing to  this  gentleman,  is  among  the  upturned  roots  of 
a  fallen  tree. 


CONNECTICUT  WARBLER. 
OPORORNIS   AGILIS   (  Wils.)  Bd. 

Chars.  "  Olive-green,  becoming  ashy  on  the  head  ;  below,  from 
the  breast,  yellow,  olive-shaded  on  the  sides  ;  chin,  throat,  and 
breast  brownish-ash  ;  a  whitish  ring  round  eye  ;  wings  and  tail 
unmarked,  glossed  with  olive  ;  under  mandible  and  feet  pale ; 
no  decided  markings  anywhere  ;  5.50  ;  wing,  2.75  ;  tail,  2.00.  In 
spring  birds  the  ash  of  the  head,  throat,  and  breast  is  quite  pure, 
and  then  the  resemblance  to  Geothlypis  Philadelphia  is  close; 
but  in  the  latter  the  wings  are  little  if  any  longer  than  the  tail. 
In  the  fall  the  upper  parts  from  bill  to  tail  are  nearly  uniform 
olive."  (Coues.}  The  full-plumaged  male  in  spring  is  said  to 
closely  resemble  Geothlypis  Philadelphia,  "  both  in  the  deep  ash 
of  the  throat  and  breast  (which  is  almost  black  where  it  joins  the 
yellow  below),  and  in  the  shade  and  limited  extent  of  the  yellow 
of  the  belly.  The  ring  round  the  eye,  however,  is  well  marked, 
and  pure  white."  (Merriam.) 


OPORORNIS    AGILIS  I    CONNECTICUT    WARBLER.       l6l 

Notwithstanding  the  abundance  of  this  bird  at  times 
in  the  fall,  in  southern  New  England,  it  is  usually  a 
rare  migrant,  especially  in  spring,  and  its  breeding 
resorts,  as  well  as  the  nest  and  eggs,  are  unknown. 
There  is  something  to  be  discovered,  respecting  its 
migrations,  which  makes  it  so  excessively  rare  in 
spring,  compared  with  its  numbers  in  autumn  ;  also 
respecting  its  breeding  range,  the  bird  being  a  well- 
known  migrant  through  Connecticut  and  Massachu- 
setts, yet  without  New  England  record  beyond  these 
States.  The  facts,  when  known,  will  doubtless  be 
mutually  explanatory.  It  seems  probable  that  this, 
like  some  other  species,  takes  different  routes  in  going 
to  and  from  its  breeding-grounds.  While  it  is  unsafe 
to  theorize  in  such  cases,  we  may  conjecture  that  the 
distribution  and  migrations  agree  to  some  extent  with 
those  of  the  Mourning  Warbler,  Geothlypis  -philadel- 
-phia,  which  is  a  rare  bird  in  most  localities  in  the 
Atlantic  States,  but  very  abundant  in  Minnesota  and 
along  the  eastern  border  of  Dakota,  in  the  breeding 
season.  The  Connecticut  Warbler  is  chiefly  seen  with 
us  in  September  and  early  in  October,  during  which 
periods  great  numbers  have  been  taken  in  Massa- 
chusetts some  years.  It  is  a  quiet  bird,  of  retiring 
disposition,  liable  to  pass  unnoticed  unless  specially 
sought  for  —  the  more  so,  because  it  frequents  prefer- 
ably low,  swampy  places,  and  keeps  near  the  ground. 
Few  persons  have  ever  heard  the  song  of  this  retiring 
and  fugitive  bird.  It  is  described  as  pleasant,  though 
a  little  harsh,  and  somewhat  resembling  that  of  the 
Maryland  Yellow-throat;  being  forcibly  delivered  in 
a  clear  ringing  tone. 
ii 


l62  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

KENTUCKY  WARBLER. 
OPORORNIS  FORMOSA  (Wils.)  Bd. 

Chars.  "  Clear  olive-green  ;  entire  under  parts  bright  yellow,  olive- 
shaded  along  sides  ;  crown  black,  separated  by  a  rich  yellow 
superciliary  line  (which  curls  around  the  eye  behind)  from  a  broad 
black  bar  running  from  bill  below  eye  and  thence  down  the  side 
of  the  neck  ;  wings  and  tail  unmarked,  glossed  with  olive  ;  feet 
flesh-color  ;  5^  ;  wing,  2|—  3  ;  tail,  1-2^-.  Young  birds  have  the 
black  obscure  if  not  wanting;  in  the  fall,  the  black  feathers  of 
the  crown  of  the  adult  are  skirted  with  ash." 

A  valuable  contribution  to  the  biography  of  this  bird 
will  be  found  in   the   record  of  its  breeding  at  Sing 

Sing,  N.  Y.,  June  19,  1875, 
where  a  specimen  was  shot, 
a  female  seen,  and  a  nest  and 
three  eggs  were  taken  by  Dr. 
A.  K.  Fisher  (Am.  Nat.,  ix, 
Oct.,  1875,  p.  573).  It  was 
also  found  by  Mr.  J.  Wallace, 
as  recorded  by  Mr.  E.  P.  Bick- 


FIG.  37.  -KENTUCKY  WARBLER,    nei^  during  the  breeding  sea- 

(  Natural  size.) 

son,  at  Fort  Lee,  N.  J.,  and 

some  years  since  a  nest  and  five  eggs,  with  the  female, 
was  taken  there  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iii,  July,  1878,  p. 


In  those  portions  of  the  United  States  where  the 
Kentucky  Warbler  is  numerous,  it  will  be  found  to 
haunt  shrubbery,  or  the  dense  undergrowth  of  luxu- 
riant woods,  often  among  piles  of  fallen  logs  or  other 
debris,  and  to  keep  near  the  ground,  where,  like 
a  Siurus,  and  unlike  most  Warblers,  it  walks  very 


OPORORNIS  FORMOSA:  KENTUCKY  WARBLER.     163 

prettily.  Its  loud  clear  song  is  said  to  resemble  that 
of  the  Mourning  Warbler  with  the  first  two  syllables 
omitted.  Mr.  Brewster  calls  it  altogether  one  of  the 
best  Sylvicoline  performances  he  has  heard. 

[The  first  and  so  far  the  only  New  England  record 
is  that  given  by  Mr.  Merriam  (Rev.  B.  Conn.,  1877, 
p.  22),  who  says  that  a  male  was  procured  by  Mr. 
E.  I.  Shores,  at  Suffield,  Conn.,  August  i6th,  1876. 
Mr.  Merriam  adds:  "I  am  aware  that  Dr.  Coues,  in 
his  'Birds  of  the  Northwest'  (p.  73),  states  that  the 
species  occurs  '  north  to  the  Connecticut  Valley,'  but  on 
what  authority  I  am  unable  to  surmise.  Perhaps  the 
learned  Doctor's  knowledge  of  the  distribution  of  birds, 
and  of  that  something  in  their  hearts  which  ofttimes 
causes  those  inexplicable  peregrinations,  together  with 
his  marvelous  power  of  intuition,  told  him  that  it  did 
occur  in  the  Connecticut  Valley,  and  had  long  been 
waiting  to  be  discovered  by  Mr.  Shores.  Indeed, 
nearly  ten  years  ago,  Dr.  Coues  prophesied  that  '  the 
occurrence  of  this  species  as  a  rare  or  casual  summer 
visitor  in  southern  New  England  is  confidently  to  be 
anticipated,'  and  it  is  an  old  saying,  that  probabilities 
become  facts  if  only  given  time  enough."  I  am  much 
obliged  to  my  respected  young  friend  for  this  neat 
compliment,  and  quite  agree  with  him,  as  far  as  mod- 
esty allows  me  to  do  so.  "  My  prophetic  soul "  being 
at  ease  now,  in  this  and  many  like  cases,  I  can  con- 
fidently commend  to  him  the  study  of  Faunal  areas, 
as  tending  to  "  marvelous  "  sharpening  of  "  intuitions," 
and  insuring  peace  of  ornithological  mind. —  C.~\ 


164  SYLVICOLID^E  I    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

J 

MARYLAND  YELLOW-THROAT. 
GEOTHLYPIS  TRICHAS  (£.)  Cab. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Above,  olive-green,  rather  grayer  anteriorly 
and  brighter  on  rump ;  forehead  and  broad  band  on  side  of  head 
pure  black,  bordered  above  by  hoary-ash  ;  under  parts,  including 
under  wing-coverts  and  edge  of  wing,  rich  yellow,  fading  to  whit- 
ish on  the  belly ;  wings  and  tail  dusky,  unmarked,  glossed  with 
olive-green  ;  bill  black  ;  feet  flesh-color.  Female  :  Without  the 
black  and  ash  on  the  head,  the  crown  quite  brownish,  an  obscure 
supraciliary  line,  and  the  yellow  of  the  under  parts  pale  and  re- 
stricted ;  smaller  than  the  male.  Young :  Resembling  the  female 
in  lacking  distinctive  head-markings,  and  often  quite  buffy  or 
tawny  instead  of  clear  yellowish.  In  any  plumage,  the  bird  may 
be  known  by  the  shortness  of  the  wings,  these  being  usually  less 
in  length  than  the  tail,  at  most  equal  to  it,  and  by  lack  of  any 
clear  ash  on  the  throat.  In  the  fall  and  winter  the  adults  resem- 
ble each  other,  and  both  show  much  of  the  buif  tinge  which  the 
young  exhibit.  Length,  4.75-5.00  ;  extent,  6.50-6.75  ;  wing  and 
tail,  each,  1.90-2.10. 

Any  shrubbery  in  New  England  may  be  tenanted  all 
summer  long  by  this  pretty  and  sprightly  little  creat- 
ure —  perhaps  the  most  abundant  of  all  the  Warblers 
of  our  country,  not  even  excepting  the  Yellow-bird, 
and  one  which  has  the  most  complete  distribution 
throughout  the  three  Faunas  represented  within  our  lim- 
its. Being  one  of  the  "Ground  Warblers,"  and  hence 
differing  notably  in  its  haunts  and  habits  from  any  of 
the  beautiful  Dendrceca  genus,  it  resembles  a  Wren  in 
its  fondness  for  bush  and  brier,  the  covert  brook,  the 
undergrowth  of  woodland,  and  the  tangle  that  shad- 
ows the  swamp.  Like  many  other  birds  of  the  bush, 
whose  hidden  haunts  inspire  a  feeling  of  safe  seclu- 
sion, but  do  not  afford  a  very  good  view  of  what  is 
going  on,  the  Yellow-throat  shows  in  its  actions  to- 


G.   TRICHAS  :    MARYLAND    YELLOW-THROAT.       165 

ward  man  that  very  engaging  combination  of  shy- 
ness, assurance,  and  curiosity  which  are  betrayed  by 
a  timid  child  in  meeting  the  advances  of  a  stranger. 
On  approaching  the  cover,  one  is  sure  to  be  saluted 
with  the  sprightly  whit'-ti-ti,  whit'-ti-ti  of  the  vivacious 
bird,  and  will  probably  see  the  performer,  absorbed  in 
his  ditty,  upon  the  outer  wall  of  his  leafy  retreat; 
curiosity  or  preoccupation  may  detain  the  singer  for  a 
few  moments,  but  he  is  likely  to  duck  out  of  sight  and 
reappear  at  some  safer  distance,  or  send  his  greeting 
with  a  mocking  accent  from  some  hidden  recess  of 
the  shrubbery.  The  female  keeps  more  closely  in 
seclusion,  threading  her  fur- 
tive way  close  to  the  ground, 
and  is  much  more  rarely  ob- 
served than  her  sprightly  mate. 
The  bird  announces  its  arrival 
with  characteristic  notes  about 
the  beginning  of  May,  but  is 
silent  in  the  fall,  when  it  lingers  FlG"  *— MARYLAND  YELLOW- 

THROAT.     (Natural  size.) 

late    amid   the    rustling   of  dry 

and  brittle  underwood,  and  the  rasping  of  withered 
reeds ;  it  is  generally  November  before  the  final  de- 
parture for  the  South,  though  few  remain  after  Sep- 
tember, except  in  favored  southern  localities.  The 
nest  is  not  easy  to  find,  notwithstanding  the  abundance 
of  the  birds,  and  the  fact  that  they  rear  two  broods, 
being  built  on  the  ground,  snugly  tucked  un4er  the 
foot  of  a  bush  or  tussock  of  rank  grass,  and  some- 
times partly  roofed  over,  like  the  Oven-bird's.  It  is  not 
remarkable  for  elegance  or  even  neatness,  —  ground- 
nests  seldom  if  ever  are,  —  being  simply  constructed 
of  dry  leaves,  grasses,  and  miscellaneous  vegetable 


l66  SYLVICOLIDvE  I    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

substances,  lined  with  fine  fibres  and  sometimes  hair. 
The  eggs  are  laid  late  in  Mayor  early  in  June,  and  again 
in  July.  They  differ  from  the  usual  run  of  Warbler 
eggs  in  being  much  more  sparingly  spotted  —  having 
sometimes  scarcely  any  markings,  but  usually  being 
very  thinly  dotted,  and  mostly  on  the  larger  part,  with 
several  shades  of  brown.  The  markings  are  very  irreg- 
ular, in  size,  number,  and  tint;  among  the  little  points 
a  few  blotches  of  larger  size  are  commonly  found. 
The  ground  is  usually  clear  white,  sometimes  faintly 
creamy.  Such  is  the  character  of  a  dozen  specimens 
before  me  as  I  write.  The  size  of  the  egg  is  not  less 
variable  than  the  markings,  averaging  about  0.70  by 
0-55- 

MOURNING  WARBLER. 
GEOTHLYPIS  PHILADELPHIA  (  Wtls.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Above,  clear  yellowish-olive,  shading  to  ashy  on  the  head  ; 
under  parts  bright  yellow,  the  throat  and  breast  more  or  less  per- 
fectly black,  according  to  perfection  of  coloring ;  usually  black, 
veiled  with  gray  or  ashy  fringing  of  the  individual  feathers,  pro- 
ducing an  appearance  of  the  bird's  wearing  crape,  whence  the 
name  "  Mourning  Warbler "  ;  wings  dusky,  glossed  with  the 
color  of  the  back,  not  marked  with  white  ;  no  white  on  eyelids  ; 
under  mandible  and  feet  flesh-color.  Young  birds  have  little  or 
no  black,  and  no  ashy,  on  the  head  ;  they  thus  closely  resemble 
Oporornis  agilis,  from  which  the  generic  characters  of  compara- 
tive length  of  wings  and  tail  serve  to  distinguish  them.  Length, 
5.25-5.50  ;  wing  and  tail,  each,  about  2.25. 

The  "  Mourning  "  Warbler — gay  and  agreeable  as 
a  widow  who  finds  the  "  peace  that  passeth  all  un- 
derstanding" in  the  consciousness  that  her  weeds  are 
becoming  —  is  sufficiently  rare  in  southern  New  Eng- 


G.  PHILADELPHIA:  MOURNING  WARBLER.      167 

land  for  every  collector  there  to  be  glad  to  make  its 
personal  acquaintance.  It  is  only  known  to  occur 
there  as  a  migrant  in  spring  and  fall,  chiefly  May 
and  September;  and  it  is  rather  a  late  arrival,  in 
the  rear  of  most  of  the  Warblers.  The  case  is  dif- 
ferent in  the  Canadian  Fauna,  where  the  bird  breeds, 
and  quite  plentifully  in  some  localities  in  Vermont, 
New  Hampshire,  and  Maine.  Mr.  Maynard,  for 
instance,  found  it  common  at  Umbagog  in  June. 
Still  it  is  locally  distributed  even  in  its  native  Fauna ; 
Mr.  N.  C.  Browne  mentions  the  taking  of  speci- 
mens at  Portland  as  an  event  of  unusual  occurrence. 
I  should  not  'be  surprised  to  hear  of  its  occasional 
nesting  in  Massachusetts.  The  general  habits  of  the 
bird  are  those  of  the  Maryland  Yellow-throat ;  but  it 
does  not  hug  the  shrubbery  so  closely,  at  least  in 
the  mating  season,  when  the  male  may  be  observed 
in  the  tops  of  the  trees  in  mixed  woodland,  where  the 
undergrowth  is  convenient  for  hiding,  singing  a  bright 
hearty  song.  At  such  times  the  female  is  very  secre- 
tive, being  seldom  observed.  The  nest  and  eggs,  of 
which  little  is  yet  known,  are  said  to  resemble  closely 
those  of  the  Maryland  Yellow-throat.  The  Mourning 
Warbler,  like  a  few  other  species  not  less  characteristic 
of  the  Eastern  Province  of  North  America,  is  neverthe- 
less not  so  common  a  bird  in  any  of  the  Atlantic  States 
as  in  the  interior  of  the  country.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
abundant  Warblers  in  summer  in  Minnesota  and  Da- 
kota, along  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  where  the 
great  woods  are  vocal  with  its  refrain  in  June.  This 
consists  of  five  or  six  notes,  simply  warbled,  with  a 
rising  inflection  of  the  voice  on  the  first  three,  and  then 
a  cadence. 


l68  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN  WARBLERS. 

YELLOW-BREASTED   CHAT. 

ICTERIA   VIRENS    (L.)    Bd. 

Chars,  Above,  rich  olive-green ;  below,  brilliant  yellow,  the  belly 
and  vent  abruptly  white  ;  lores  black,  separating  white  supra- 
ciliary  and  maxillary  lines  ;  under  eyelid  white  ;  wings  and  tail 
unmarked,  glossed  with  the  color  of  the  back ;  bill  blue-black, 
part  of  under  mandible  sometimes  pale  ;  feet  livid  bluish.  Female 
and  young  quite  similar,  not  so  brightly  colored.  Largest  of  the 
family  :  length,  7.00  to  7.50  ;  extent,  9.00  or  more ;  wing  and  tail, 
each,  3.00-3.25  ;  bill,  0.52  ;  tarsus,  1.12. 

This  eccentric  and  assertive  character  is  not  dis- 
played to  full  advantage  in  New  England,  where  the 
remarkable  bird  is  neither  abundant  enough  to  be  very 

well  known,  nor  of  any 
wide  distribution.  It  is 
characteristic  of  the  Caro- 
linian Fauna,  and  hence 
chiefly  confined  to  por- 
tions of  Connecticut ;  it 
also  occurs,  however,  in 

FIG.  39. -YELLOW-BREASTED  CHAT.         Massachusetts,  and  an  in- 

stance   of  its   presence  in 

New  Hampshire  has  been  noted.  A  nest  with  four 
eggs  was  secured  at  North  Conway  in  that  State, 
in  1877,  as  recorded  by  Dr.  Brewer  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc., 
xix,  1879,  P-  3°3)-  Mr.  Allen  reports  the  bird  as  a 
rare  summer  resident  in  Massachusetts,  and  there  are 
several  records  of  its  breeding  in  the  eastern  part  of 
that  State.  In  1833,  indeed,  Prof.  Emmons  attrib- 
uted it  to  Massachusetts,  as  an  "occasional  visitant;" 
and  up  to  1873,  at  least  four  nests  had  been  found  in 


ICTERIA   VIRENS  I    YELLOW-BREASTED   CHAT.       169 

the  vicinity  of  Lynn.  In  Connecticut,  as  would  be 
expected,  the  Chat  is  a  regiilar  summer  visitor,  and 
Mr.  J.  N.  Clark  has  found  it  nesting  constantly  at 
Saybrook.  It  arrives  early  in  May,  and  departs  in 
September.  It  inhabits  shrubbery,  and  in  fact  any 
kind  of  undergrowth ;  the  nest  being  built  in  a  thick 
bush,  generally  but  two  or  three  feet  from  the  ground, 
of  withered  leaves,  dried  grasses,  strips  of  bark  and 
the  like,  lined  with  fine  fibres.  The  eggs,  to  the  num- 
ber usually  of  three  or  four,  have  a  brilliant  white 
ground  and  polished  surface ;  but  the  markings,  as 
shown  by  a  series  of  over  twenty  before  me,  are  too 
variable  to  be  readily  described.  As  a  rule,  the  eggs 
are  thickly  and  pretty  evenly  spotted  and  blotched  with 
several  shades  of  reddish-brown,  with  the  usual  lilac 
under-markings,  the  tendency  being,  however,  to  ag- 
gregation toward  the  larger  end ;  some  specimens  are 
only  minutely  dotted,  and  with  paler  purplish-brown 
spots.  The  variation  in  size  and  shape  is  equally  great, 
the  average  being  perhaps  1.00x0.80.  The  bird  is 
extremely  vivacious  when  pairing,  and  noted  for  the 
brilliant  song  it  executes  at  such  times,  with  many 
aerial  evolutions  and  other  extravagant  actions.  It  is 
an  expert  ventriloquist,  and  very  cunning  in  mis- 
leading one  as  to  its  whereabouts  when  hiding  in  the 
bushes.  Notwithstanding  its  large  size  and  bright 
color,  the  Chat  would  oftenest  pass  unnoticed,  so 
sedulous  is  it  of  concealment,  were  it  not  betrayed 
by  the  rich,  voluble  song,  and  the  frequent  display  it 
makes  on  wing.  Among  its  many  eccentricities,  it 
has  a  fondness  for  keeping  late  hours,  and  on  moon- 
lit nights  its  riotous  serenades  often  startle  more  orderly 
birds  from  their  slumbers. 


170  SYLVICOLID./E  :    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

HOODED   WARBLER. 

WlLSONIA    MITRATA    (Gm.)  Bp. 

Chars.  Above,  clear  yellow-olive  ;  below,  rich  yellow  shaded  on 
sides  ;  whole  head  and  neck  jet  black,  enclosing  a  golden-yel- 
low mask  across  forehead  and  along  sides  of  head  ;  wings  plain, 
glossed  with  the  color  of  the  back ;  tail  with  large  white  blotches 
on  two  or  three  outer  pair  of  feathers  ;  bill  black,  with  well- 
developed  rictal  bristles  ;  feet  flesh-color.  Female  in  full  plu- 
mage similar,  but  the  black  hood  restricted  or  imperfect.  Imma- 
ture specimens  want  the  black  entirely,  the  parts  concerned  being 
colored  to  correspond  with  upper  and  under  parts  ;  or  have  it  in 
various  stages  of  incompleteness.  The  general  coloration,  with 
the  strong  bristles  of  the  gape,  and  Flycatcher-like  bill,  should 
however  prevent  misunderstanding.  Length,  about  5.25  ;  extent, 
8.50 ;  wing,  2.75  ;  tail,  2.25. 

Being  characteristic  of  the  Carolinian  Fauna,  the 
elegant  Hooded  Warbler  is  chiefly  confined  to  Con- 
necticut, so  far  as  New  Eng- 
land is  concerned.  Since  Dr. 
Coues,  writing  in  1868,  said, 
from  the  data  then  at  his  dis- 
posal, that  it  was  a  "very 
rare,  and  perhaps  accidental, 
visitor  to  more  southerly  por- 
tions," it  has  been  found  in 
FIG.  40. -HOODED  WARBLER.  considerable  numbers  in  Con- 

(Natural  size.) 

necticut,    in    some    parts    of 

which  it  breeds  abundantly.  The  species  appears 
to  have  been  first  attributed  to  that  State  by  Linsley, 
in  1843,  having  been  found  there  in  June  by  Dr. 
Whelpley.  There  have  been  occasional  references 
of  the  bird  to  Massachusetts,  perhaps  not  well  at- 


W.   PUSILLA  :    GREEN    BLACK-CAPPED   WARBLER.       Ijl 

tested,  but  an  unquestionable  instance  of  such  occur- 
rence has  lately  been  given  by  Mr.  Deane  (Bull.  Nutt. 
Club,  v,  1880,  p.  117).  Mr.  Merriam  has  supplied 
our  most  extended  and  valuable  notes  on  the  subject, 
derived  from  observations  made  in  Connecticut.  As 
noted  by  Mr.  H.  A.  Purdie  (Am.  Nat.,  vii,  1873,  p. 
692),  the  Hooded  Warbler  was  found  by  Mr.  J.  N. 
Clark  to  be  abundant  at  Saybrook,  "in  dense  woods, 
breeding  everywhere  in  suitable  places,  always  in  a 
low  laurel  (Kalmia)  bush."  (See,  also,  Mr.  Purdie's 
remarks  in  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  i,  1876,  p.  73,  and  ii, 
1877,  p.  21.)  The  bird  probably  comes  to  New  Eng- 
land in  May,  and  takes  its  departure  in  September. 


GREEN   BLACK-CAPPED   WARBLER. 

WlLSONIA   PUSILLA    (Wits.)  Bj). 

Chars.  Above,  clear  yellow-olive,  the  crown  glossy  black,  the  fore- 
head, sides  of  head,  and  all  under  parts  bright  yellow;  wings 
and  tail  unmarked,  glossed  with  the  color  of  the  back  :  under 
mandible  pale.  In  female  and  young  birds  the  black  cap  is  ob- 
scure or  wanting.  Very  small :  length,  4.75-5.00  ;  extent,  7.00 ; 
wing,  2.25  ;  tail  about  2.00.  Bill  Flycatcher-like,  with  strong  bris- 
tles, as  in  other  species  of  the  genus. 

Too  little  is  known  as  yet  of  the  breeding  resorts 
and  habits  of  this  dainty  bird  to  enable  me  to  speak 
with  assurance  of  the  species  as  a  summer  resident  in 
New  England.  It  occurs,  however,  in  that  character 
in  Maine,  and  doubtless  also  in  New  Hampshire  and 
Vermont,  being  apparently  limited  in  its  southward 
range  in  the  breeding  season  by  the  Canadian  Fauna. 
It  goes  north  to  the  Arctic  regions,  having  been  found 
nesting  in  Alaska,  for  instance.  Eggs  from  the  Yukon 


172  SYLVICOLID^E  :    AMERICAN   WARBLERS. 

River,  to  the  number  of  four  to  a  set,  are  white,  finely 
dotted  with  reddish-brown,  chiefly  at  the  greater  end. 
The  nest  is  said  to  be  built  in  bushes,  near  the 
ground.  Wilson's  Black-cap  is  a  migrant  in  southern 
New  England,  where  it  arrives 
early  in  May,  and  departs  prob- 
ably in  September ;  it  is  found 
in  mixed  woods  and  shrubbery, 
quite  numerously  in  some  local- 
ities, more  rarely  in  others.  It 
FIG.  41. -GREEN  BLACK-  js  One  of  the  few  birds  commonly 

CAPPED  WARBLER.  (Nat.  size.)       .  ,      .          _T  -^        .         , 

observed    in    New    England    re- 
specting whose  nesting  we  have  still  much  to  learn.  [*] 

[*  Just  in  the  nick  of  time,  as  this  page  is  going  into  the  metal, 
I  receive  the  greatly  desired  information  respecting  the  nest  and 
eggs  of  Wilson's  Black-cap,  from  Mr.  H.  D.  Minot,  who  writes  me 
respecting  the  breeding  of  the  species  in  Colorado.  His  interesting 
and  timely  observations  were  made  at  Seven  Lakes,  on  Pike's  Peak, 
a  dozen  miles  from  Manitou,  about  11,000  feet  in  altitude,  and  near 
timber-line. 

*'.  .  .  .  I  devoted  the  morning  of  June  22d  to  finding  the  nest 
and  eggs  of  Wilson's  Black-cap,  which  I  confidently  expected  would 
be  in  a  bush.  Being  attracted  by  the  songs  of  the  birds  to  a  bushy 
swamp,  where  they  were  numerous,  I  ransacked  it  thoroughly,  and 
finally  started  a  female  from  a  bush.  I  dropped  upon  my  knees 
without  much  faith,  — not  to  pray,  but  to  watch,  —  and  was  soon 
rewarded  for  my  humility.  The  nest  was  found  at  the  edge  of  the 
swamp,  on  the  ground,  under  a  low,  spreading  branch  of  dwarf  wil- 
low, and  beneath  an  almost  natural  archway  of  dry  grasses,  opening 
toward  the  south.  It  was  composed  outwardly  of  shreds  loosely  set 
in  a  hollow,  and  inwardly  of  fine  grass-stalks,  with  a  few  hairs.  It 
measured  2i  inches  across  inside,  by  half  as  much  in  depth.  The 
eggs  were  five  in  number,  about  0.60X0.50  in  size,  and  dull  whitish 
in  color,  thickly  freckled  with  dark  rusty  brown  and  some  slight 
lilac  markings,  and  with  some  blotches  at  the  larger  end,  — in  three 
cases  on  the  crown,  and  in  two  about  it.  The  swamp  was  too  ex- 
tensive to  beat  over  thoroughly,  and  1  did  not  succeed  in  finding 
another  nest,  nor  in  putting  up  another  female.  The  males  which 


WILSONIA   CANADENSIS  I    CANADIAN    WARBLER.       173 

[  Wilsonia  minuta.  w  Small-headed  Flycatcher."  An 
unknown  species,  conjectured  to  belong  to  this  genus, 
and  repeatedly  attributed  to  New  England.  —  Berk- 
shire County,  Mass.,  Peabody,  Rep.  Birds  Mass.,  1839, 
p.  297  ;  Putnam,  Pr.  Essex  Inst,  i,  1856,  p.  226. — 
Salem,  Mass.,  Nuttall,  Man.  Orn.,  i,  1832,  p.  297.  — 
Ipswich,  Mass.,  Brewer. — Mass.,  "doubtful,"  Allen, 
Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  iv,  1864,  p.  83.  —  New  England, 
"rather  an  apocryphal  species,"  Coues,  Pr.  Essex  Inst., 
v,  1868,  p.  275.  —  Wenham,  Mass.,  without  comment, 
Brewer,  Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xvii,  1875,  P-  44°  •  The  name 
has  dropped  out  of  most  of  the  recent  lists,  and  should 
not  be  restored  without  good  authority.  — C.] 


CANADIAN  FLYCATCHING  WARBLER. 
WILSONIA  CANADENSIS  (£.)    Coues. 

Chars.  Above,  ashy-blue  ;  crown  with  many  black  arrow-heads, 
crowded  anteriorly ;  a  slight  line  on  forehead,  short  supraciliary 
line,  edges  of  eyelids,  and  whole  under  parts,  excepting  the  white 
under  tail-coverts,  yellow ;  lore  black,  continuous  with  a  black 
stripe  along  side  of  head,  connecting  with  a  chain  of  black 
marks  down  side  of  neck  and  then  prettily  encircling  the  throat 
like  a  necklace  ;  wings  and  tail  unmarked  ;  feet  flesh-color ;  bill 
blackish.  Female  and  young  similar,  the  black  markings  obscure 
or  restricted,  the  upper  parts  more  or  less  glossed  with  olive. 
Bill  and  strong  rictal  bristles  as  in  other  species  of  the  genus. 
Length  about  5  35  ;  extent,  7.75  ;  wing,  2.50  ;  tail,  2.25. 

I  saw,  perhaps  a  dozen  in  all,  kept  much  together,  as  if  they  were 
a  colonial  troop,  fluttering  through  the  shrubbery,  fly-catching  very 
little,  touching  the  ground  occasionally,  and  often  having  their  play- 
ful quarrels.  Their  faces  and  cheeks  were  of  the  richest  golden  yel- 
low, much  of  the  bill  being  of  the  same  color;  and  their  song  was 
different  from  that  of  the  Eastern  bird,  as  I  recall  it.  They  were,  I 
take  it,  of  the  Western  variety  (pileolata)" — C.] 


174  SYLVICOLID^E  I    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

A  common  summer  resident  of  New  England,  arriv- 
ing early  in  May,  and  leaving  in  September.  It  breeds 
more  numerously  in  the  Canadian  Fauna  than  else- 
where, and  this  appears  to  be  the  limit  of  its  northward 
dispersion.  It  has  been  supposed  to  be  confined  to 
this  Fauna  in  the  breeding  season,  but  such  proves  not 
to  be  the  case,  various  nests  having  been  found  in 
Massachusetts,  and  the  birds  themselves  all  through 
the  summer  in  Connecticut.  A  nest  taken  with  eggs 
in  Lynn,  Mass.,  was  placed  on  the  ground  at  the  foot 
of  a  grass-clump,  in  a  low  swampy  piece  of  ground, 
and  was  built  almost  entirely  of 
the  needles  of  the  white  pine, 
so  loosely  disposed  that  it  was 
found  necessary  to  sew  them  to- 
gether in  order  to  preserve  the 
structure.  The  eggs  were  five 
in  number,  white,  irregularly 
marked  with  dots  and  small 
blotches  of  reddish-brown,  after 

FIG.  42. — CANADIAN  FLYCATCH-     ,  -\     r      -\  •  r     tir      11 

ING  WARBLER.  (Nat.  size.)      the   usual    fashion    of   Warbler 
eggs,   measuring  0.75   by  0.56 

of  an  inch.  Another  ground-nest,  at  first  supposed 
to  belong  to  the  Red-bellied  Nuthatch,  but  afterward 
identified  as  probably  built  by  the  present  bird,  has 
been  described  by  Mr.  F.  H.  Nutter  (Am.  Nat.,  xi, 
I&77>  P-  S^S  ;  xii,  1878,  p.  397)  ;  this  was  from  West 
Roxbury,  Mass.  Such  method  of  nesting  seems  to  be 
common  to  all  our  members  of  the  genus  Wilsonia, 
or  Myiodioctes,  as  of  the  genus  Hclminthophaga ; 
being  very  different  from  the  case  of  Sttophaga. 


SETOPHAGA   RUTICILLA  I    REDSTART.  175 

REDSTART. 
SETOPHAGA  RUTICILLA  (Z.)  Sw. 

Chars.  Male,  in  full  plumage  :  Glossy  blue-black  ;  belly  and  breast 
white  ;  sides  of  breast,  lining  of  wings,  bases  of  nearly  all  the 
wing-quills  and  tail-feathers,  flame-color ;  this  rich  orange  mak- 
ing a  conspicuous  spot  on  the  wings,  and  forming  a  transverse 
outline  with  the  black  on  the  tail ;  bill  and  feet  black.  Female  : 
Olive-gray  or  brownish  where  the  male  is  black,  and  clear  yellow 
where  the  male  is  orange.  Young  males  at  first  resemble  the 
female,  and  later,  in  the  progress  to  mature  coloration,  show  every 
gradation  in  color  between  the  two  sexes,  being  often  irregularly 
patched  with  black  feathers.  (For  details  of  changes  of  plumage, 
see  Coues,  B.  Col.  Vail.,  p.  339.)  Length,  5.00-5.50  ;  extent,  7.50- 
8.00 ;  wing  and  tail,  2.25-2.50  ;  bill,  0.35  ;  tarsus,  0.65. 

The  lovely  Redstart,  not  less  famous  for  its  richness 
of  dress  than  the  Blackburnian  Warbler,  and  a  bird 
further  conspicuous  by  its  incessant  activity  and  great 
vivacity  of  manner,  is  a  common  summer  resident 
throughout  New  England.  It  reaches  this  country 
about  the  first  of  May,  soon  becomes  generally  dis- 
persed, and  breeds  in  all  suitable  situations,  retiring 
late  in  September.  It  is  one  of  the  most  active  and 
adroit  of  flycatchers,  continually  sallying  forth  in  the 
air  to  capture  small  winged  insects  with  a  sharp  click 
of  the  bill,  or  chasing  them  hotly  along  the  limbs  of 
trees,  when  its  gleaming  colors  are  fully  displayed, 
and  flash  in  contrast  with  the  green  foliage.  The  song 
is  hearty,  though  .quaint  and  not  very  musical,  and 
the  bird  seems  very  fond  of  exercising  its  vocal  pow- 
ers. There  is  dash  and  spirit  in  everything  it  does ; 
and  what  with  singing,  courting,  quarrelling,  and  for- 
aging for  food,  the  nervous  Redstart  seems  never  at 


176  SYLVICOLID^E  I    AMERICAN    WARBLERS. 

rest.  Early  in  June  the  nest  may  be  sought,  in  mixed 
woody  groves,  in  the  fork  of  a  shrub  or  sapling,  from 
five  to  twenty  feet  from  the  ground.  It  is  a  neat,  com- 
pact structure,  composed  of  bark-strips,  grasses,  and 
miscellaneous  material,  lined  with  fine  grass-stems, 
thistle,  fern,  or  other  plant-down,  sometimes  with  horse- 
hair, caterpillars'  silk,  or  spiders'-web.  The  whole  fab- 
ric may  be  stuccoed  as  well  as  lined  with  such  soft  sub- 
stances. The  eggs  are  four  or  five  in  number,  and 
measure  from  0.58  to  0.68  in  length  by  0.48  to  0.52  in 
breadth.  They  are  white,  usually  heavily  spotted, 
especially  on  the  larger  part,  with  dull  or  pale  brown- 
ish surface-markings  of  several  shades,  together  with 
the  usual  shell-spots  of  purplish  or  lavender  —  the 
latter  being  simply  brown  spots  in,  not  on  the  shell, 
as  in  other  cases  of  the  kind.  The  Redstart,  as  may 
be  supposed,  is  entirely  insectivorous.  Though  so 
expert  a  fly-catcher,  of  striking  address  on  the  wing, 
it  is  said  by  several  writers  to  frequently  glean  insects 
on  the  ground. 


PYRANGA  RUBRA:  SCARLET  TANAGER.        177 


FAMILY  TANAGRID^  :  TANAGERS. 

SCARLET  TANAGER. 
PYRANGA  RUBRA  (Z.)  V. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Scarlet,  with  black  wings  and  tail.  Female  : 
Above,  clear  olive-green ;  below,  clear  greenish-yellow  ;  wings 
and  tail  dusky,  edged  with  the  color  of  the  back.  Young  males 
are  at  first  like  the  female  ;  during  the  change,  interminably  va- 
riegated with  colors  of  both  sexes.  There  is  much  difference  in 
the  shade  of  red  of  the  male.  There  are  sometimes  red  feathers 
among  the  black  wing-coverts.  Length,  7.00-7.50  ;  extent,  n.oo- 
12.00;  wing,  4.00;  tail,  3.00;  bill,  0.56;  tarsus,  0.70. 

The  gleaming  Tanager,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  of 
all  our  birds,  is  a  common  summer  resident  of  New 
England  —  though  somewhat  locally  distributed,  and 
rare  or  wanting  in  northernmost  portions  of  the  coun- 
try. It  belongs  properly  to  the  Alleghanian  Fauna, 
and  is  not  found  in  any  numbers  beyond  such  limits. 
The  gaudy  and  richly-contrasted  colors  of  the  male 
are  first  seen  in  spring,  at  the  height  of  the  migration 
of  the  Warblers  and  other  small  insectivorous  birds, 
about  the  second  week  in  May ;  and  the  birds  are  most 
numerous  during  the  remainder  of  that  month.  With 
the  beginning  of  June  they  are  settled  in  their  summer 
homes,  and  nesting  is  already  in  progress.  Belong- 
ing to  an  essentially  tropical  family,  of  which  they  are 
among  the  few  outliers  of  temperate  regions,  Tanagers 
are  delicate  birds,  as  would  naturally  be  supposed, 

12 


178  TANAGRID^E  :    TANAGERS. 

and  leave  New  England  early  in  the  fall ;  commonly 
during  the  first  or  second  week  in  September.  While 
with  us  they  frequent  orchards,  gardens  and  parks, 
as  well  as  mixed  woods,  rather  preferring  such  as 
have  abundant  undergrowth  of  saplings,  shrubs,  and 
climbers.  The  female  is  a  quiet,  unobtrusive  bird, 
whose  colors  assimilate  with  those  of  the  foliage  ;  being 
hence  much  less  exposed  to  observation  than  her  gay 
mate,  who,  with  all  his  thoughtfulness  for  the  safety 
of  his  family,  can  scarcely  "  hide  his  light "  at  the  crit- 
ical periods  of  incubation  and  breeding.  The  nest 
will  oftenest  be  found  in  such  low  thick  woods  as  we 
commonly  style  "groves,"  or  in  the  skirting  of  still 
more  tangled  thickets,  not  seldom  also  in  an  orchard, 
on  the  horizontal  limb  of  some  low  tree  or  sapling.  It 
is  a  loosely  fashioned  structure,  shallow  for  its  width, 
though  often  of  irregular  shape,  built  of  bark-strips, 
rootlets,  twigs,  and  leaves,  more  neatly  and  compactly 
lined  with  finer  materials  of  similar  kinds.  The  eggs 
are  three  to  five  in  number,  and  may  usually  be  recog- 
nized at  a  glance,  if  the  style  of  nest  and  its  location 
be  also  taken  into  consideration.  They  are  pale  dull 
greenish-blue,  more  or  less  profusely  and  heavily 
spotted  with  reddish-brown  and  lilac.  These  mark- 
ings may  be  dull  in  some  cases,  but  the  general  im- 
pression given  is  that  of  a  fully  spotted  egg.  The 
variation  in  size  and  shape  is  great,  specimens  ranging 
from  0.90  to  over  i.oo  in  length,  by  about  0.65  in 
breadth.  Like  manv  other  gaily-dressed  things,  the 
Tanager's  personal  appearance  is  more  attractive  than 
what  he  has  to  say  ;  his  song  being  to  no  remarkable 
effect,  and  his  ordinary  call-notes  decidedly  unmelo- 
dious.  The  birds  feed  considerably  upon  berries  and 


PYRANGA  ^ESTIVA:  SUMMER  TANAGER.        179 

other  small  soft  fruits,  as  well  as  upon  beetles  and  large 
winged  insects  and  their  larvae.  The  dress  of  the  male 
is  not  perfected  until  after  the  first  year. 


SUMMER  TANAGER. 
PYRANGA  ESTIVA  (Z.)   V. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Rich  rosy  or  vermilion  red  (not  scarlet),  in- 
cluding the  wings  and  tail ;  the  unexposed  portions  of  the  feath- 
ers of  these  members  dusky.  Female  :  Dull  brownish-olive  ; 
below,  dull  buffy-yellow.  Young  like  the  female  ;  when  changing, 
showing  confused  characters  of  both  sexes,  red  and  greenish  being 
mixed  in  irregular  patches.  The  female  resembles  that  sex  of 
P.  mbra,  but  may  be  distinguished  by  the  dull  brownish  or  buffy 
tinge,  the  greenish  and  yellowish  of  rubra  being  much  clearer ; 
the  bill  and  feet,  also,  are  pale,  not  dark.  The  size  is  rather 
greater. 

So  rare  a  bird  is  this  in  New  England,  that  it 
can  hardly  be  accounted  more  than  a  straggler.  It 
has  not  been  observed  beyond  Massachusetts.  It  was 
reported  from  Connecticut  by  Linsley  in  1843  (Am. 
Jour.  Sci.,  xliv,  p.  261).  Two  were  captured  in  Lynn, 
Mass.,  by  Mr.  S.  Jillson,  after  a  storm  in  April,  1852, 
as  recorded  by  Putnam  (Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  i,  1856,  p. 
224).  One  was  seen  at  Sherborne,  Mass.,  by  Mr. 
A.  L.  Babcock ;  and  another  at  Amherst,  Mass.,  in 
August,  1867.  (See  the  Massachusetts  instances  given 
by  Allen,  Am.  Nat.,  iii,  1869,  p.  578,  and  iv,  1870, 
p.  56.)  In  June,  1866,  a  specimen  was  taken  at 
Swampscott,  by  Mr.  N.  Vickary,  as  first  recorded  by 
Allen  (Bull.  Essex  Inst.,  x,  1878,  p.  15).  Among 
other  late  notices  are  those  of  Purdie  (Bull.  Nutt. 
Club,  ii,  1877,  p.  27),  who  speaks  of  a  male  taken 


l8o  TANAGRID^E  :    TANAGERS. 

a  few  years  before  near  Providence,  R.  I.,  by  Mr. 
J.  W.  P.  Jencks,  and  of  Merriam  (Rev.  B.  Conn., 
1877,  p.  27),  who  mentions  several  Connecticut  in- 
stances, and  pertinently  suggests  that  the  bird  may 
yet  be  found  to  breed  in  that  State.  The  general 
haunts  and  habits  of  the  bird,  as  well  as  its  nest  and 
eggs,  resemble  those  of  its  near  relative,  the  Scarlet 
Tanager. 

LOUISIANA  TANAGER. 
PYRANGA  LUDOVICIANA  (Wzls.)  Rich. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Bright  yellow,  with  crimson  head  ;  the  mid- 
dle of  the  back,  the  tail,  and  the  wings,  black;  the  latter  with 
two  yellow  bars.  Female :  Resembling  that  of  P.  rubra.  but 
distinguished  by  the  wing-bars  and  other  characters.  Size  about 
that  of  P.  rubra. 

A  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  species,  whose  oc- 
currence in  New  England  is  purely  accidental,  like 
that  of  Turdus  ncevtus  or  Dendrceca  auduboni.  It  has 
been  found  but  once,  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  Jan.  20,  1878, 
when  a  living  and  undoubtedly  wild  bird  was  caught 
in  a  cage,  after  a  severe  storm.  The  following  rec- 
ords all  refer  to  this  single  case  :  Brewer,  Forest  and 
Stream,  March  14,  1878,  p.  95  ;  Allen,  Bull.  Essex 
Inst.,  x,  Apr.,  1878,  p.  37;  Brewer,  Pr.  Bost.  Soc., 
xix,  May,  1878,  p.  304;  Brewer^  ibid.,  Apr.,  1878, 
p.  204. 


HIRUNDO    HORREORUM  I    BARN    SWALLOW.       l8l 


FAMILY  HIRUNDINID^E  :   SWALLOWS. 


AMERICAN  BARN  SWALLOW. 

HIRUNDO  ERYTHROGASTRA  HORREORUM  (Bart.) 
Coues. 

Chars.  Above,  glossy  steel-blue  ;  forehead  and  under  parts  chest- 
nut of  variable  shade,  generally  deepest  on  the  throat ;  an  incom- 
plete steel-blue  necklace.  Tail,  when  fully  developed,  deeply 
forficate,  with  linear  lateral  feathers,  like  the  back  in  color,  with 
several  white  spots.  Bill  and  feet  black.  Sexes  similar.  Young 
less  lustrous,  with  pale  or  even  whitish  under  parts,  and  the  tail 
simply  forked.  At  a  very  early  stage  the  young  are  quite  lustre- 
less brown  above,  with  rusty  edgings  of  some  of  the  feathers. 
Length  very  variable,  according  to  the  development  of  the  tail, 
usually  6  or  7  inches  ;  extent,  12.50-13.50  ;  wing,  4.50-5.00  ;  tail, 
3.00-5.00,  the  depth  of  fork  2.00-3.00.  Like  most  birds,  the  Swal- 
low is  subject  to  albinism,  and  it  is  so  abundant  a  bird  that  this 
aberration  in  color  has  often  been  observed. 

A  very  common  summer  resident,  especially  in  pop- 
ulated places.  The  regular  return  of  the  Swallows 
occurs  in  April,  and  usually  during  the  latter  part  of 
that  month ;  but  the  time  is  very  variable,  depending 
much  upon  the  weather,  and  individuals  may  some- 
times be  observed  in  March,  or  even  in  February. 
Such  instances,  however,  no  more  represent  the  nor- 
mal migration,  than  "make  a  summer."  The  return 
movement  is  in  September,  and  rather  early  than  late 
in  that  month,  but  largely  determined  by  the  weather, 
as  in  spring.  The  Swallows  are  very  assiduous  in 
their  household  affairs,  nesting  for  the  first  time  usu- 


182 


HIRUNDINID^E  :    SWALLOWS. 


ally  by  the  middle  of  May,  rearing  another  family 
late  in  June,  and  sometimes  managing  to  dispose 
of  a  third  before  the  end  of  summer  —  using,  if 

not  making,  much 
hay  "while  the  sun 
shines."  The  well- 
known  nest,  of  pel- 
lets of  mud  lined 
with  hay  and  often 
also  with  feathers, 
is  placed  upon  the 
rafters  or  under  the 
eaves  of  a  barn 
or  other  building, 
which  serves  these 
^accommodating 
birds  in  good  stead 
of  the  holes  in  trees 
they  used  to  occupy 
before  the  country 
was  settled.  The 

FIG.  43.  — DETAILS  OF  STRUCTURE  OF  BARN  SWAL-  ,v 

LOW.    (Natural  size.)  CggS       arG      tmeG      tO 

five  or  six  in  num- 
ber, rather  narrow  for  their  length,  like  the  trim 
bodies  of  the  parent,  from  0.68  to  0.78  long  by  0.50 
to  0.56  broad  ;  they  are  fully  speckled  with  reddish 
and  purplish  markings. 

Queer  little  eggs,  scarcely  or  not  half  the  natural 
size,  are  often  dropped  by  birds  toward  the  end  of 
their  recurrent  periods  of  ovulation  ;  and  such  are  gen- 
erally infertile.  Swallows'  nests  are  so  accessible,  and 
so  often  looked  into  by  the  children,  that  many  such 
"runt"  eggs  have  come  under  our  observation. 


I.   BICOLOR  I    WHITE-BELLIED    SWALLOW. 


WHITE-BELLIED   SWALLOW. 
IRIDOPROCNE  BICOLOR  (  V.)  Coues. 

Chars.  Lustrous  steel-green  above,  pure  white  below  ;  bill  and  feet 
black  ;  tail  simply  forked.  White  ones  have  been  seen.  Length, 
about  6.00  ;  extent,  13.00  ;  wing,  4.50-5.00  ;  tail,  2.50. 

A  common  summer  resident,  and  more  equably  dis- 
tributed over  New  England  than  the  Barn  Swallow, 
as  it  is  less  dependent  upon  man  for  breeding  places, 
and  less  gregarious  during  the  nesting  season.  Though 
the  White-bellies  often 
accept  the  boxes  set  up 
for  their  accommodation, 
it  is  not  always  easy  to 
induce  them  to  occupy 
such  artificial  retreats, 
and  in  some  places  they 
still  refuse  to  modify  their 
primitive  habits  of  breed- 
ing in  natural  excava- 
tions of  trees  and  stumps. 
Sometimes  they  compromise  on  a  hole  in  a  post  or 
fence.  They  are  consequently  found  in  remote  and 
secluded  woods  and  swamps,  as  well  as  about  the 
habitations  of  man  ;  and  display  a  certain  taste  for 
aquatics  in  frequently  choosing  "stubs"  standing  in 
the  water  for  nesting-places,  in  their  immense  autum- 
nal gatherings  in  the  salt  marshes  of  the  coasts,  and 
in  being  very  numerous  about  ponds  and  other  fresh 
water  away  from  houses.  They  reach  New  England 
somewhat  in  advance  of  the  Barn  Swallows,  coming 
in  full  force  early  in  April ;  and  in  the  fall  they  linger 


FIG.  44.  —  WHITE-BELLIED  SWALLOW. 
(Natural  size.) 


184  HIRUNDINID^E  :    SWALLOWS. 

through  the  greater  part  of  September  ;  but  the  weather 
has  much  to  do  with  their  movements.  The  nest  is 
built  of  hay,  without  mud,  and  lined  with  feathers  ;  the 
eggs  are  pure  white,  without  markings,  and  from  0.70 
to  0.78  long  by  0.50  to  0.55  broad. 


CLIFF  OR  EAVE  SWALLOW. 
PETROCHELIDON  LUNIFRONS  (Say)  Cab. 

Chars.  Above,  glossy  steel-blue  ;  a  blue-black  spot  on  the  throat ; 
rump  rufous  ;  a  white  or  brownish-white  crescent  on  forehead ; 
throat  and  sides  of  head  deep  chestnut,  the  rest  of  the  under 
parts  dull  rusty-gray,  or  grayish-brown,  becoming  paler  on  the 
belly  ;  much  of  the  under  parts  with  dusky  sharp  lines  on  the 
individual  feathers.  Wings  and  tail  blackish,  with  little  gloss, 
and  unmarked.  Bill  black ;  feet  dark.  Sexes  alike.  Young : 
Above,  dark  lustreless  brown,  with  whitish  skirting  of  the  feathers ; 
the  throat-spot  wanting,  the  frontlet  a  mere  trace  or  wanting,  the 
chestnut  parts  quite  pale.  Length,  5.00-5.50;  extent,  12.00-12.50; 
wing,  4.25-4.50 ;  tail,  2.25,  nearly  square. 

The  "  Republicans  "  enter  and  leave  New  England 
about  the  same  time  that  the  Barn  Swallows  do,  and 
are  among  our  common  summer  birds.  They  are 
more  numerous  and  more  equably  dispersed  in  settled 
districts  than  formerly ;  but  I  think  that  a  good  deal 
that  has  been  written  of  their  supposed  irruption  from  the 
West  is  to  be  taken  with  salt.  Some  records  have  been 
laboriously  collected  to  show  the  dates  of  appearance 
of  these  birds  in  particular  localities ;  such  writing 
has  its  own  interest  as  a  matter  of  fact,  but  not  as  sus- 
taining the  "  eastward-ho  !  "  theory.  The  "Cliff"  Swal- 
lows, as  their  name  implies,  and  as  every  one  knows, 
naturally  fix  their  queer  bottle-nosed  nests  to  the  per- 


P.    LUNIFRONS  :    CLIFF    OR    EAVE    SWALLOW.       185 

pendicular  faces  of  rocks  and  hard  embankments; 
and  have  latterly  acquired  the  name  of  "  Eave  "  Swal- 
lows, from  the  circumstance  that  they  have  readily 
availed  themselves  of  the  eligible  nesting  sites  afford- 
ed by  the  walls  of  houses  under  shelter  of  the  eaves. 
Therefore,  the  settlement  of  the  country  affords  unlim- 
ited breeding  resources  where  formerly  there  were 
none  ;  and  these  Swallows  have  consequently  become 
common  in  New  England.  They  were  actually  known 
in  this  part  of  the  country  before  their  discovery  by 
Say  in  the  West;  but  natural  breeding-places,  such 
as  these  birds  require,  are  not 
to  be  found  everywhere  in  the 
Eastern  States.  The  remark- 
able nests  which  the  industrious 
birds  construct  with  such  inge- 
nuity and  labor  may  now  be 
seen  sticking  in  rows  under  the 
eaves  of  buildings  anywhere  ; 

mud-retOrtS,     With     the     hole     in  FIG.  45.  -CLIFF  OR  EAVE  SWAL- 

the  neck,  furnished  inside  with  LOW"  (Natural  size-> 
hay  and  feathers.  The  degree  of  perfection  to  which 
the  flask-shape  is  carried  depends  much  upon  circum- 
stances, some  nests  having  no  neck.  The  eggs  close- 
ly resemble  those  of  the  Barn  Swallow,  being  sim- 
ilarly marked;  they^are  a  trifle  larger  on  an  average, 
but  no  one  could  distinguish  them  with  certainty. 
Two  broods  are  usually  reared  each  season.  The 
birds  are  among  the  most  sociable  and  amiable  of  the 
Swallows,  fifty  or  a  hundred  of  their  nests  being  often 
massed  together  on  a  cliff,  or  strung  along  the  rafters, 
without  the  slightest  difference  of  opinion  on  the  part 
of  the  owners. 


l86  HIRUNDINID^E  :    SWALLOWS. 

BANK  SWALLOW. 
COTILE  RIPARIA  (L.)  Boie. 

Chars.  Lustreless  mouse-brown  above,  white  below,  with  a  brown 
necklace  ;  wings  and  tail  dusky,  unmarked.  A  small  tuft  of  feath- 
ers at  the  lower  end  of  the  tarsus.  Sexes  alike.  Young:  Similar, 
but  usually  with  whitish  or  rufous  edgings  of  the  feathers  of  the 
upper  parts.  Small:  length  scarcely  5.00 ;  extent,  10.50;  wing, 
4.00 ;  tail,  2.00. 

These  very  plainly-colored  Swallows,  the  least  in 
size  of  all  our  species,  are  abundant  summer  residents, 
wherever  the  requirements  of  their  breeding  instinct 
are  fulfilled.  Unlike  all  the  rest,  the  Bank  Swallows 
have  never  yielded  to  modernizing  influences,  and 
still  persist  in  excavating  holes  for  themselves  in  the 
ground,  as  they  have  always  done.  Their  nesting 
habits  are  very  interesting.  Given  an  embankment  of 
earth  soft  enough  to  be  worked  —  a  natural  exposure 
in  the  bend  of  a  stream,  a  site  left  in  running  a  rail- 
road, a  gravel-pit  —  straight  the  busy  birds  come  flock- 
ing to  colonize.  Soon  the  face  of  the  escarpment  will 
be  seen  studded  with  little  round  holes,  before  which 
the  light  wings  dash  in  airy  circles.  The  places  are 
not  unlike  those  the  Kingfisher  selects,  and  the  larger 
entrance  of  the  sturdy  rattler's  hole  may  sometimes  be 
seen  in  the  midst  of  the  lesser  openings.  It  is  aston- 
ishing how  far  the  weak  birds,  with  their  slight  bills 
and  claws,  will  manage  to  penetrate  the  ground  ;  some- 
times to  the  extent  of  two  feet,  though  the  burrows 
are  not  ordinarily  so  extensive  as  this.  They  also  dis- 
play much  tact  in  selecting  the  most  suitable  soil  to 
work  in,  neither  too  hard  to  be  penetrated  with  ease, 


S.    SERRIPENNIS  :    ROUGH-WINGED    SWALLOW.       187 

nor  so  soft  as  to  cave  in  or  be  unsafe  from  the  falling 
of  loosened  pebbles.  Any  one  may  be  satisfied  of  this 
by  examining  a  bank  where  different  strata  are  ex- 
posed, and  noting  how  the  Swallows  confine  themselves 
to  such  belts  of  soil  as  suit  them  best.  At  the  farther 
end  of  the  passage-way  the  nest  is  placed  —  a  slight 
affair  of  dried  grasses  lined  with  feathers.  The  eggs 
are  from  three  to  six  in  number.  I  have  repeatedly 
found  the  latter  number.  There  seems  to  be  some  ir- 
regularity in  the  time  they  are  laid.  I  have  found  per- 
fectly fresh  eggs  in  the  same  nest  with  others  contain- 
ing well-formed  embryos,  and  a  friend  informs  me  that 
he  has  seen  in  one  nest  fresh  eggs  and  newly-hatched 
young.  Is  it  possible,  in  such  cases,  that  more  than 
one  pair  have  made  use  of  the  same  nest?  The  eggs 
are  pure  white,  without  markings,  and  measure  0.68 
to  0.73  by  about  0.50.  They  are  first  laid  the  latter 
part  of  May,  with  a  second  set  later  in  the  summer. 


ROUGH-WINGED  SWALLOW. 
STELGIDOPTERYX  SERRIPENNIS  (Aud.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Resembling  the  Bank  Swallow  in  general  aspect ;  no  tuft 
of  feathers  on  tarsus  ;  outer  web  of  first  primary  rough  and  ser- 
rated, the  vane  being  converted  into  a  series  of  stiff  recurved 
hooks.  Above,  brownish-gray ;  below,  paler,  whitening  on  the 
belly.  A  little  larger  than  the  Bank  Swallow. 

The  Rough-wing  is  probably  rare  in  New  England, 
and  has  only  lately  become  known  to  occur  there  at 
all.  But  it  is  so  similar  to  the  Bank  Swallow  in  gen- 
eral appearance,  that  it  might  long  escape  notice,  were 


1 88  HIRUNDINID^E  :    SWALLOWS. 

not  special  attention  paid  to  the  distinctions  between 
the  two.  Writing  in  1868,  Dr.  Coues  remarks  :  "  It  is 
very  singular  that  there  should  be  no  instances  on 
record  of  the  occurrence  in  New  England  of  the 
Rough-winged  Swallow,  Stelgidopteryx  serrtpennts, 
as  the  species  certainly  ought  to  be  found  there  ; "  and 
down  to  1875  tne  evidence  had  not  been  forthcoming, 
the  name  not  occurring  in  Dr.  Brewer's  list  of  that  date. 
The  first  New  England  record  was  made  by  Mr.  H. 
A.  Purdie,  who  speaks  of  a  female  taken  at  Suffield, 
Conn.,  by  Mr.  E.  I.  Shores,  June  6,  1875  (Bull.  Nutt. 
Club,  iii,  1877,  p.  21 ).  This  occurrence  was  recog- 
nized, of  course,  in  Mr.  Merriam's  Review  (p.  31), 
and  with  the  additional  information  that  Mr.  E.  P. 
Bicknell  had  found  the  bird  breeding  in  numbers  at 
Riverdale,  N.  Y.,  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Connec- 
ticut line.  It  remained  for  Mr.  J.  A.  Stannis  (Bull. 
Nutt.  Club,  iv,  1879,  P-  TI9)  to  attest  the  constant 
and  regular  nesting  of  the  Rough-wing  in  Connecticut, 
near  New  Haven.  He  found  it  breeding  at  Green's 
Farms,  in  stone  abutments  along  the  N.  Y.  &  N.  E. 
R.  R.,  seemingly  in  no  wise  disturbed  by  the  thirty 
trains  that  passed  daily  within  a  few  feet  of  their  nests. 
"  Half  a  dozen  pairs  nested  there  last  season,  and  per- 
haps more ;  but,  judging  from  the  number  seen,  I 
should  say  there  were  fewer  than  during  the  season  of 
1877."  His  observations  extend  over  three  summers, 
showing  the  occurrence  to  be  not  fortuitous.  There  is 
as  yet,  I  believe,  no  Massachusetts  record ;  but  as  the 
question,  in  the  case  of  a  bird  of  such  powers  of  wing 
as  a  Swallow,  is  scarcely  one  of  Faunal  areas,  the 
Rough-wing  is  liable  to  be  heard  from  in  any  portion 
of  New  England.  Instances  of  further  occurrence 


PROGNE    SUBIS  :    PURPLE    MARTIN.  ip 

are  awaited  with  interest,  and  will,  it  is  hoped,  be 
promptly  reported  by  those  who  may  have  it  in  their 
power  to  extend  the  known  range  of  the  species. 

The  nests,  like  those  of  the  Bank  Swallow,  are  built 
of  hay  and  feathers,  but  are  very  differently  placed, 
the  Rough-wing  nesting  in  artificial  retreats  —  as  a 
chink  in  the  boarding  of  a  building,  a  crevice  in  a 
stone  wall,  the  abutment  or  span  of  a  bridge,  and  the 
like  ;  preferably  near  water.  The  eggs  are  pure  white, 
unmarked,  to  the  number  of  four  to  six ;  they  closely 
resemble  Bank  Swallows',  but  are  a  little  larger,  aver- 
aging perhaps  0.75x0.55. 


PURPLE   MARTIN. 
PROGNE  SUBIS  (Z*.,  1758)  Bd. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Lustrous  blue-black.  Female  and  young : 
Duller  steel-blue ;  below,  more  or  less  extensively  white  with 
dark  gray  streaks.  Bill  and  feet  black,  the  former  very  stout 
and  much  curved  for  a  bird  of  this  family ;  nostrils  circular  and 
prominent.  Length,  7.00  or  more ;  extent,  16.00 ;  wing,  nearly 
6.00  ;  tail,  3.50,  simply  forked. 

A  common  summer  resident,  almost  universally 
nesting  nowadays  in  the  boxes  provided  for  its  ac- 
commodation, or  equivalent  retreats  about  buildings. 
The  distribution  of  the  species,  though  in  no  wise 
dependent  upon  Faunal  considerations,  is  influenced 
by  other  conditions  which  cause  the  bird  to  be  irreg- 
ularly dispersed  in  New  England,  and  rare  or  even 
wanting  in  many  localities  where  one  would  expect  to 
find  it.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  here  and  else- 
where in  the  United  States  the  Martin  is  not  on  the 


190  HIRUNDINID^E  I    SWALLOWS. 

whole  so  very  numerous  as  we  suppose.  Wherever 
it  occurs,  the  size  of  the  bird,  its  striking  color,  the 
noise  it  makes,  and  its  activity  and  domesticity,  con- 
spire to  render  it  an  object  so  conspicuous  that  we 
unconsciously  acquire  an  exaggerated  idea  of  its  gen- 
eral abundance.  It  moreover  appears  to  be  somewhat 
on  the  decrease  in  New  England,  from  some  cause 
not  well  understood.  Its  loquacity  is  an  annoyance  to 
many  persons,  and  hospitality  is  frequently  denied; 
though  the  bird  is  certainly  a  serviceable  one  in  the 
work  of  holding  insects  in  check  —  vastly  more  so 
than  its  inveterate  enemy,  the  European  Sparrow. 
The  Martin  originally  built  in  hollows  of  trees,  as 
the  White-bellied  Swallow  still  does,  but  is  now  sel- 
dom if  ever  known  to  nest  except  in  artificial  recep- 
tacles. It  reaches  us  late  in  April  or  early  in  May, 
and  leaves  early  in  September.  Two  broods  are  com- 
monly reared,  the  first  set  of  eggs  being  laid  in  May, 
the  other  in  July.  The  nest  is  built  of  hay,  sometimes 
with  twigs  intermixed,  and  is  lined  with  feathers. 
Like  those  of  the  Bank  and  White-bellied  Swallows, 
the  eggs  ars  pure  white  and  unmarked ;  but  they  are 
of  course  much  larger  —  0.95  to  i.oo  long,  by  about 
0.68  in  the  lesser  diameter. 


AMPELIS  GARRULUS  I    BOHEMIAN  WAXWING. 


FAMILY  AMPELID^ :  WAXWINGS. 

BOHEMIAN    WAXWING. 
AMPELIS  GARRULUS  Z. 

Chars.  Under  tail-coverts  chestnut  ;  front  and  sides  of  the  head 
tinged  with  a  richer,  more  orange-brown  shade  ;  primary  wing- 
coverts  tipped  with  white  ;  each  quill  with  a  sharp  white  (or  yel- 
lowish) stripe  at  the  end  of  the  outer  web  ;  chin  velvety  black  in 
a  large,  well-defined  area  ;  narrow  line  across  forehead,  along 
sides  of  head,  through  eyes,  meeting  its  fellow  on  the  occiput 
behind  the  crest,  also  velvety  black  ;  no  white  on  under  eyelid 
nor  across  forehead  ;  no  yellowish  on  belly  ;  bill  and  feet  black. 
Length,  7.75  ;  extent,  14.75  5  wing,  4.50  ;  tail,  2.50. 

This  eccentric  bird  has  only  been  observed  in  New 
England  as  an  erratic  visitor  from  the  north,  in  win- 
ter ;  and  even  then  its  visits  are  irregular  and  very 
infrequent.  We  have  records  of  captures  or  occur- 
rences at  various  localities  throughout  New  England ; 
but  it  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate  them,  as  they  prove 
no  rule.  The  Bohemian  is  well  known  to  roam  at 
large  over  Europe  and  America  in  flocks  sometimes 
of  enormous  extent,  keeping  mostly  in  high  latitudes, 
but  occasionally  whirling  southward.  Its  breeding  re- 
sorts were  long  a  mystery.  In  America,  it  is  only 
known  to  nest  on  the  Yukon.  In  New  England  it 
generally  appears  as  a  straggler,  seldom  farther  south 
than  Massachusetts ;  but  flocks  of  some  size  have 
occasionally  been  observed.  Geographical  distribu- 
tion and  the  vagabond  nature  of  the  bird  aside,  the 


AMPELID^E  :    WAXWINGS. 


traits  and  habits  of  the  Bohemian  are  quite  the  same 
as  those  of  the  familiar  Cedar  Bird  ;  the  nidification  is 
substantially  identical,  and  the  eggs  are  only  to  be 
distinguished  by  their  superior  size. 


CAROLINA   WAXWING;   CEDAR-BIRD; 
CHERRY-BIRD. 

AMPELIS  CEDRORUM  (  V.)  Gray. 

Chars.  Plumage  peculiarly  soft  and  smooth  ;  head  conspicuously 
crested.  Body-color  shading  insensibly  from  clear  ash  on  the 
rump  and  upper  tail-coverts  through  olivaceous-cinnamon  to  rich 
purplish-cinnamon  on  the  fore-parts  and  head,  and  through  yel- 
lowish on  the  belly  to  white  on  the  under  tail-coverts.  Fore- 
head, lore,  chin,  and  eye-stripe,  velvety-black  ;  a  sharp  man- 
dibular  line,  one  also  bordering  the  black  lore,  with  the  under 
eyelid,  white.  Wing-quills  slate-gray,  dusky  at  the  ends  and  pale 
on  the  inner  webs,  without  white  or  yellow  markings,  but  the 
inner  ones  with  hard  horny  appendages,  like  red  sealing-wax. 
Tail  tipped  with  yellow,  occasionally  also  having  the  waxy  appen- 
dages. Bill  plumbeous  black,  sometimes  pale  at  base  below  ;  feet 
blackish.  Length,  6.00-7.00;  extent,  11.50-1200;  wing,  3.50- 
3.75  ;  tail,  2.25  ;  bill,  0.36  ;  tarsus,  0.70.  Specimens  apparently 
adult  may  lack  the  horny  appendages,  and  these  are  usually 
wanting  in  the  young.  The  latter  are  streaked  with  dingy 
whitish,  but  are  sufficiently  like  the  adults  to  be  unmistakable. 

This  Waxwing  is  something  of  a  tramp,  like  its 
elder  brother,  the  Bohemian,  and  not  much  to  be 
depended  upon  for  regular  periodicity  of  movement, 
in  pointing  the  moral  of  Faunal  areas.  It  is  an  abun- 
dant New  England  bird,  breeding  anywhere  in  this 
country,  and  to  some  uncertain  extent  a  spring  and 
autumn  migrant ;  for  numbers  enter  the  country  in  the 
former  and  depart  in  the  latter  season.  Other  num- 


AMPELIS    CEDRORUM  :    CEDAR-BIRD. 


193 


bers,  however,  endure  the  rigor  of  winter  without 
inconvenience,  at  least  as  far  north  as  Massachusetts, 
collecting  in  flocks  in  groves  and  thickets,  where  they 
feed  upon  various  berries  and  other  persistent  small- 
fruits,  especially  those  of  the  cedar.  At  more  favor- 
able periods  of  the  year  they  find  abundant  food  in 
cherries  and  other  garden  fruits,  their  devotion  to 
which  makes  the  horticulturist  treat  them  with  sus- 
picion, if  not  with  outright 
hostility ;  but  they  never- 
theless are  much  more  ben- 
eficial than  injurious  to  his 
property,  destroying, 
as  they  do,  great  num- 
bers of  hurtful  bugs  and 
caterpillars  —  particularly 
the  noxious  canker-worms, 
which  the  English  spar- 
rows scarcely  touch.  Not 
seldom,  also,  they  get  the 

better  of  the  easy  indolence     FlG.  40.- CEDAR  BIRD.     (Natural  size.) 

which  forms  so  marked  a 

trait  of  theirs,  and  make  vigorous  sallies  after  flying 
insects,  which  they  take  on  the  wing  with  no  little 
address.  The  Waxwings  are  very  sociable,  amiable, 
and  even  affectionate  in  disposition  ;  they  go  in  flocks 
nearly  all  the,  year,  and  seem  so  well  satisfied  with 
each  other  and  with  the  easy  life  they  lead  as  to  be  in 
no  hurry  to  enter  upon  household  duties.  It  is  usually 
late  in  June,  or  even  July,  before  the  dilatory  birds 
pair  off  and  make  a  nest.  For  this  purpose  they 
resort  to  a  cedar  bush,  or  orchard  tree,  and  build 
a  rather  bulky  structure  of  the  most  miscellaneous 
13 


194  AMPELIDvE  :    WAXWINGS. 

vegetable  matters  —  bark,  leaves,  roots,  twigs,  weeds, 
grasses,  sometimes  even  paper,  rags,  and  twine ;  lining 
the  composite  fabric  with  finer  grass  stems,  hair,  or 
wool.  The  eggs,  which  run  from  3  to  6  in  a  set,  are 
very  characteristic,  having  a  livid  bluish  or  pale  bluish 
ground,  more  or  less  thickly  and  nearly  always  sharply 
dotted,  spotted,  or  blotched  with  blackish  spots,  and 
others  of  the  same  dark  tint,  but  appearing  paler  be- 
cause under  instead  of  on  the  surface,  being  therefore 
overlaid  with  the  ground-color  of  the  shell.  Whitish 
eggs  with  faint  obsolete  markings  are  sometimes  seen, 
but  the  usual  style  is  well-pronounced,  as  just  de- 
scribed. In  shape  the  eggs  are  rather  elongate  and 
narrow,  though  there  is  much  variation  in  this  respect. 
Fair  samples  measure  about  0.82x0.60.  The  Wax- 
wing  is  such  a  lazy  breeder,  that  probably  the  latest 
broods,  sometimes  seen  even  in  August,  are  not  a 
second  lot  for  the  season.  It  is  a  remarkably  silent 
bird,  without  anything  to  be  called  a  song ;  the  ordi- 
nary note  is  soft,  low,  and  lisping  —  Minot  calls  it  a 
"dreary  whisper,"  and  Coues  describes  the  effort  as 
"  a  weak  and  wheezy  whistle." 


VIREO    OLIVACEUS  :    RED-EYED    GREENLET.       195 


FAMILY  VIREONID^  :  GREENLETS. 

RED-EYED  GREENLET. 
VIREO  OLIVACEUS  (L.)   V. 

Chars.  Above,  yellowish-olive,  extending  on  sides  of  head  and  neck, 
but  not  on  the  crown  ;  below,  pure  white,  a  little  shaded  along  the 
sides  with  greenish-yellow.  Wings  and  tail  dark,  the  feathers 
edged  with  the  color  of  the  back  ;  no  wing-bars.  Crown  ash, 
contrasting  with  the  color  of  the  back,  bounded  with  a  blackish 
stripe  on  each  side,  below  which  is  a  long  whitish  supraciliary 
line  ;  beneath  this  the  lore  dusky.  Bill  dark  plumbeous  above, 
pale  horn-color  below  ;  feet  bluish-plumbeous  ;  eye  red.  Prima- 
ries apparently  only  9,  the  first  being  rudimentary,  though  always 
discernible,  and  occasionally  quite  evident.  Large  for  a  Vireo, 
rather  trimly  built,  with  slender  hooked  bill,  and  usually  found 
in  good  fair  feathering  at  all  seasons.  Length  about  6.00,  though 
ranging  575-6-5°  \  extent,  9.75-IO-75  J  wing,  3.00-3.40  ;  tail,  2.25- 
2.50  ;  bill  over  0.50  ;  tarsus,  0.75. 

The  Greenlets  or  Vireos  form  one  of  the  several 
leading  families  of  New  England  birds  in  numbers  of 
species,  others  being  those  of  the  Thrushes,  War- 
blers, Swallows,  and  Finches.  They  are  nearly  all 
numerous  in  individuals,  and  play  no  small  part  in  the 
life  of  the  woods.  The  White-eye  haunts  shrubbery, 
but  the  rest  are  sylvan  birds  of  the  high  forest,  the 
park  and  orchard.  All  are  summer  residents  in  New 
England  ;  all  are  migratory,  insectivorous,  and  tuneful ; 
all  weave  neat  cup-like  pensile  nests,  and  lay  white, 
finely  speckled  eggs ;  and  all  share  many  admirable 
and  agreeable  traits  of  character. 


IpO  VIREONID^E  I    GREENLETS. 

The  commonest,  best  known,  and  most  generally 
distributed  New  England  species  of  Vireo  is  the  Red- 
eye, whose  voluble  notes  are  heard  all  summer  long 
in  the  parks  and  streets  of  the  cities  as  well  as  in  the 
most  remote  forests.  It  is  a  most  persistent  and  tire- 
less songster,  whose  earnest  melody  enlivens  the  sultry 
noon,  and  the  drowsy,  listless  after-hours  of  midsum- 
mer days,  which  prove  too  much  for  the  spirit  of  un- 
willing school-boys,  but  seem  to  have  no  depressing 
effect  upon  this  indefatigable  musician.  The  restless 
bird  comes  to  us  early  in  May,  and  remains  through 


FIG.  47.  —  DETAILS  OF  STRUCTURE  OF  RED-EYED  GREENLET.     (Natural  size.) 

most  of  September ;  in  southerly  places  quite  until 
October.  The  nest  is  made  about  the  first  of  June,  and 
the  eggs  are  laid  as  soon  as  it  is  completed.  There  is 
sometimes  a  second  set,  in  July.  The  well-woven  cup 
is  suspended  from  a  forked  twig ;  it  is  felted  of  the 
most  miscellaneous  materials,  among  which  bark- 
strips,  pine-needles,  bits  of  paper,  and  wasp-nest  are 
usually  seen.  Though  the  walls  are  thin,  the  structure 
is  compact,  and  so  durable  that  it  may  last  more  than 
one  season ;  it  seems  as  if  the  materials  were  matted 
or  even  pasted  together.  It  is  placed  in  a  sapling  or 
other  undergrowth  of  the  forest,  or  in  the  orchard,  or 
along  the  roadside,  and  becomes  very  noticeable  after 


V.    PHILADELPHICUS  I    LOVE    GREENLET. 


the  leaves  have  fallen.  The  eggs  are  three  to  five  in 
number,  pure  white,  with  a  rosy  blush,  sprinkled  with 
a  few  dark  spots  at  and  about  the  larger  end,  most  of 
the  surface  being  immaculate  ;  they  measure  0.80  to 
0.85  in  length  by  about  0.60  in  breadth.  The  parents 
are  very  spirited  in  the  defence  of  their  home,  and  very 
tender  in  the  care  of  their  young,  to  whom  they  bring 
a  bountiful  supply  of  soft  insect  food.  Like  other 
Vireos,  this  Greenlet  is  an  indefatigable  bug-hunter, 
incessantly  peering  about  for  the  insects  that  infest  the 
foliage,  singing  as  he  goes  his  diligent,  useful  way, 
now  dropping  a  note  to  seize  his  prey,  then  resuming 
his  strain  with  the  same  preoccupied  air. 


BROTHERLY-LOVE  GREENLET. 

VlREO    PHILADELPHICUS    CdSS. 

Chars.  Above,  dull  olive-green,  brightening  on  the  rump,  fading 
insensibly  into  ashy  on  the  crown,  which  is  not  bordered  with 
blackish  ;  a  dull  white  supraciliary  line  ;  below,  palest  possible 
yellowish,  whitening  on  throat  and  belly,  slightly  olive-shaded  on 
sides  ;  sometimes  a  slight  creamy  or  buff  shade  throughout  the 
under  parts ;  no  obvious  wing-bars  ;  no  evident  spurious  first 
primary.  The  latter  character  distinguishes  the  species  from  V. 
gilvus,  which  it  most  resembles  in  color.  About  5.00  long ;  wing, 
2.70  ;  tail,  2.25  ;  bill  hardly  or  about  0.50  ;  tarsus,  0.66. 

This  is  the  rarest  of  the  New  England  Greenlets, 
but  its  very  close  resemblance  to  the  Warbling  Vireo 
doubtless  causes  it  to  be  considered  less  common  than 
it  really  is.  The  best  account  of  the  species  as  a  bird 
of  New  England  is  that  given  by  Mr.  Deane  (Bull. 
Nutt.  Club,  i,  1876,  p.  74).  "The  above-named  spe- 


198  VIREONID^E  I    GREENLETS. 

cies  was  first  given  as  a  New  England  bird  by  Prof. 
Chas.  E.  Hamlin,  based  upon  a  specimen  which  he 
captured  at  Waterville,  Me.,  May  2ist,  1863.  For  the 
next  nine  years  it  escaped  the  notice  of  our  collec- 
tors, when,  during  a  collecting  trip  at  the  Umbagog 
Lakes,  Maine,  I  procured  a  specimen  on  June  3,  1872, 
and  on  the  following  day,  in  company  with  Mr.  Brew- 
ster,  obtained  two  more.  In  a  communication  from 
Geo.  A.  Boardman,  Esq.,  he  states  that  on  June  2d, 
1872,  he  obtained  a  female  at  Calais,  Me.,  the  only 
one,  however,  which  he  has  met  with.  We  did  not 

hear  of  the  Vireo  again 
until  Sept.,  1874,  when 
Mr.  Brewster  took  six 
specimens  at  Lake  Um- 
bagog. On  Sept.  nth, 
1875  ,  1  procured  a  female 
at  the  foot  of  Ripogenus 


F,G.  48.  -DETAILS  OK  STRUCTURE  OF         L    fc  beautiful     sheet 

BROTHERLY  -LOVE  GREENLET.  (Natural  size.) 

of  water    situated   about 

one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  northeast  from  Umba- 
gog Lake,  and  observed  two  others.  There  was  an 
immense  migration  of  Warblers,  Sparrows,  and  other 
species  on  that  morning,  and  the  specimen  taken  was 
in  company  with  the  Red-eyed  and  Yellow-throated 
Vireo.  All  these  individuals  were  undoubtedly  on  or 
near  their  breeding  grounds,  and  although  but  few 
pass  through  the  coast  States,  yet  it  is  strange  that 
the  species  should  have  escaped  the  notice  of  so  many 
watchful  collectors  of  the  present  day,  until  Mr.  Brew- 
ster procured  a  specimen  in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  Sept. 
7th,  1875.  Three  specimens  were  taken  curing  the 
first  week  of  June,  1876,  at  Lake  Umbagog,  in  which 


V.    PHILADELPHICUS  I    LOVE    GREENLET.  199 

locality  it  is  now  considered  as  a  summer  resident." 
Mr.  W.  H.  Fox,  Concord,  Mass.,  records  a  specimen 
taken  in  Hollis,  N.  H.,  May  26th,  1876,  by  Mr.  A. 
F.  Eaton  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  ii,  1877,  p.  78)  ;  "it  was 
feeding  in  company  with  two  other  birds  of  the  same 
kind,  in  some  low  oak  bushes."  Mr.  Wm.  Brewster 
contributes  an  excellent  article  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v, 
1880,  p.  i),  in  which  he  tells  us  that  the  species  has 
at  la?t  been  found  "  to  be  not  very  uncommon  in  suitable 
localities  "  throughout  the  region  surrounding  Umba- 
gog  Lakes.  "  I  traced  them  as  far  southward  as 
Newry,  only  five  miles  north  of  Bethel,  and  westward 
to  Dixville  Notch,  in  New  Hampshire.  At  the  latter 
point  they  were  noted  in  greater  numbers  than  else- 
where, and  on  June  10  several  pairs  were  found  in  the 
open  birch  groves  about  the  '  Dix  House,'  just  beyond 
the  Notch."  Mr.  Brewster  adds  that  this  Greenlet 
comes  with  the  last  flight  of  Warblers,  and  is  most 
likely  to  be  found  singly  at  this  season.  After  the 
breeding  season  has  fairly  begun  he  is  quite  as  inde- 
fatigable a  singer  as  his  Red-eyed  cousin,  and  there 
is  much  resemblance  between  the  notes  of  the  two 
species.  He  sings  throughout  the  day  in  all  weathers  ; 
his  notes  are  generally  pitched  a  little  higher  in  the 
scale,  while  many  of  the  utterances  are  feebler,  and 
the  whole  strain  is  a  trifle  more  disconnected.  Mr. 
C.  W.  Townsend  records  the  second  Massachusetts 
specimen  from  Magnolia,  September  18,  1879  (Bull. 
Nutt.  Club,  v,  1880,  p.  53).  The  nest  and  eggs  are 
unknown  to  me,  but  it  may  be  presumed,  to  judge  from 
the  analogy  of  this  genus,  that  they  are  not  distinguish- 
able from  those  of  several  other  species. 


2OO  VIREONID^E  :    GREENLETS. 

WARBLING  GREENLET. 

VlREO    GILVUS   (  V.) 


Chars.  Differing  from  both  the  foregoing  species  of  Vireo,  and  agree- 
ing with  each  of  the  two  last  ones  in  possessing  ten  developed 
primaries,  the  first  one  of  which,  though  short  and  "spurious,"  is 
one-third  as  long  as  the  second.  Scarcely  distinguishable  from 
V.  philadelphicus  in  color  and  size.  A  very  plainly-colored  bird, 
without  wing-bars,  or  blackish  stripe  along  side  of  crown,  or  de- 
cided contrast  between  color  of  back  and  of  crown.  Above,  ashy- 
greenish,  brightest  on  rump,  shading  insensibly  into  ashy  on  the 
crown,  which  is  bordered  by  a  whitish  supraciliary  line  ;  region 
immediately  before  and  behind  eye  dusky.  Under  parts  dull 
white,  with  a  faint  yellowish,  sometimes  a  creamy  or  buffy  tinge, 
shaded  along  sides  with  a  delicate  wash  of  the  color  of  the  back. 
Bill  dark  horn-color  above,  pale  below  ;  feet  plumbeous.  Length^ 
5.00  or  a  little  more  ;  extent  about  8.50  ;  wing,  2.80  ;  tail,  2.25  ; 
bill,  0.40  ;  tarsus,  0.65. 

This  common  summer  resident  of  New  England  is 
even  more  noted  than  the  Red-eye  for  the  persistency 
with  which  it  haunts  the  elms  and  other  shade-trees 
of  our  streets  and  parks,  where  it  glides  unseen  among 
the  foliage,  and  constantly  salutes  us  with  its  dreamy 
delicious  warbling.  The  notes  are  much  softer, 
smoother,  and  more  artistically  modulated  than  those 
of  the  Red-eye,  having  an  easy  rippling  movement, 
quite  unlike  the  jerky  style  in  which  the  other  Green- 
let  delivers  his  querulous  message.  It  comes  from 
the  South  early  in  May,  and  retires  about  the  middle 
of  September.  Though  generally  distributed,  it  is  per- 
haps more  numerous  in  southern  New  England,  and 
in  populous  localities,  than  in  the  recesses  of  Maine 
woods  ;  and  is  probably  nowhere  so  abundant  as  the 
Red-eye.  It  usually  keeps  well  up  in  the  foliage  of 
the  larger  trees,  and  will  scarcely  be  found  in  under- 


V.   FLAVIFRONS  .'    YELLOW-THROATED   GREENLET.     2OI 


growth  of  any  kind ;  though  it  enters  orchards  and 
gardens,  particularly  when  the  fruit-trees  are  in  blos- 
som. The  nest,  as  would  be  expected,  is  built  at  a 
considerable  height  from  the  ground.  It  is  pensile,  of 
course,  and  pecu- 
liar in  no  respect 
in  comparison  with 
that  of  other  Vireos  ; 
nor  are  the  eggs 
distinguishable  with 
certainty  from  the 
Red-eye's,  though 
averaging  smaller. 
They  are  usually  laid  early  in  June.  Dr.  Brewer  has 
recently  recorded  no  fewer  than  four  nests  and  sets  of 
eggs  from  East  Bethel,  Vt.,  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
Green  Mountains,  and  seems  disposed  to  consider  the 
bird  as  not  less  abundant  there  than  in  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut. 


FIG.  49.  — DETAILS  OF  STRUCTURE  OF  WARBLING 
GREENLET.     (Natural  size.) 


YELLOW-THROATED  GREENLET. 

VlREO    FLAVIFRONS    V. 

Chars.  A  large,  stout,  highly-colored  species,  with  thicker  bill 
than  any  of  the  foregoing.  No  evident  spurious  first  quill ;  pri- 
maries apparently  only  9,  as  in  olivaceus  and  philadelphicus. 
Above,  rich  yellow-olive  shading  to  bluish-ash  on  the  rump  ; 
below,  bright  yellow,  the  belly  and  vent  abruptly  white,  the  sides 
shaded  anteriorly  with  olive,  posteriorly  with  plumbeous.  Ex- 
treme forehead,  supraciliary  line,  and  eye-ring,  yellow  like  the 
throat.  Lore  dusky  ;  wings  dusky,  with  much  white  edging  and 
two  broad  white  cross-bars  ;  tail  like  wings,  the  feathers  broadly 
edged  with  white.  Bill  and  feet  dark  plumbeous.  Length,  5.75- 
6.00  ;  extent,  8.50 ;  wing  about  3.00 ;  tail  only  2.25  ;  bill,  0.45  ; 
tarsus,  0.75. 


202 


VIREONID^E  :    GREENLETS. 


This  is  decidedly  the  handsomest  of  the  Greenlets, 
the  rich  yellow  of  the  throat  and  breast  being  as  con- 
spicuous as  it  is  in  the  case  of  the  Chat  —  these  two 
birds,  in  fact,  resembling  each  other  quite  closely.  It 
is  not  nearly  so  common  in  New  England  as  either  the 
Red-eye  or  the  Warbling  Vireo,  and  in  fact  is  rare,  or 
only  locally  distributed  in  any  numbers  beyond  Massa- 
chusetts, being  decidedly  characteristic  of  the  Alle- 
ghanian  Fauna.  It  is,  however,  found  in  the  Cana- 
dian also.  Mr.  Ruthven  Deane  found  it  in  September 
at  Ripogenus  Lake,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 

northeast  of  Umba- 
gog  (Bull.  Nutt. 
Club,  i,  1876,  p. 
74).  This  occur- 
rence may  be  ex- 
ceptional. The 
Yellow  -  throat  ar- 
rives in  New  Eng- 
land  with  other 
Vireos  very  early  in  May,  is  distributed  in  a  week  or 
two,  and  remains  through  the  greater  part  of  Septem- 
ber. The  eggs  are  not  distinguishable  with  certainty 
from  those  of  the  Red-eye  and  Warbling  Greenlet, 
though  perhaps,  on  an  average,  more  heavily  spotted  ; 
they  are  laid  at  the  same  time.  The  nest,  on  the  contra- 
ry, is  a  much  more  highly  finished  structure,  of  greater 
capacity,  and  elegantly  adorned  with  a  stucco-work  of 
lichens,  like  a  Humming-bird's.  Mr.  Minot  compli- 
ments the  birds  on  their  architectural  taste  and  skill, 
and  describes  the  result  as  "  altogether  one  of  the  pret- 
tiest nests  to  be  found."  t?  The  nest  of  this  species,"  he 
says,  "is  pensile,  but  rather  larger  and  deeper  than 


FIG.  50. —  DETAILS  OF  STRUCTURE  OF  YELLOW- 
THROATED  GREENLET.    (Natural  size.) 


VIREO    SOLITARIUS  :    BLUE-HEADED    GREENLET.       2O3 

those  of  the  other  Vireos,  being  between  3  and  3^ 
inches  wide,  and  nearly  as  deep.  It  is  placed  in  the 
fork  of  a  horizontal  branch,  from  three  to  fifteen  feet 
above  the  ground,  as  often  in  the  orchard  as  in  the 
wood,  though  I  have  found  it  in  pines.  It  is  com- 
posed of  narrow  strips  of  thin  bark,  such  as  that  of 
the  cedar  or  large  vines,  is  lined  with  pine-needles  or 
grasses,  and  is  usually  ornamented  on  the  outside  with 
caterpillars'  silk  and  large  pieces  of  lichens."  (B.  N. 
E.,  1877,  p.  154.)  The  Yellow-throat  has  an  agree- 
able song,  unmistakably  a  Vireo's,  yet  readily  distin- 
guished from  the  several  different  melodies  of  the  other 
species  ;  together  with  the  harsh  scolding  outcry  com- 
monly uttered  by  the  members  of  this  family  when 
their  homes  are  invaded.  It  is  not  less  beneficial  than 
the  rest  are  to  the  agriculturist,  as  it  destroys  its  full 
share  of  objectionable  insects. 


BLUE-HEADED  GREENLET. 
VIREO  SOLITARIUS  (Wits.)  V. 

Chars.  A  large  stout  species,  with  a.  thick  bill;  size  and  propor- 
tions nearly  those  of  V.flavifrons ;  but  there  is  a  well-developed 
spurious  quill,  0.50-0.65  long,  a  fourth  as  long  as  the  next  prima- 
ry. Upper  parts  olive-green,  of  the  same  shade  as  in  V.  oliva- 
ceus,  the  crown  and  sides  of  the  head  bluish-ash  in  marked 
contrast,  with  a  white  line  to  and  around  but  not  behind  the  eye, 
and  dusky  lore.  Below,  pure  white,  the  sides  olive-shaded,  the 
under  wing  and  tail-coverts  quite  yellowish.  Wings  and  tail 
dusky,  most  of  the  feathers  edged  with  white,  or  with  the  color  of 
the  back,  or  both,  and  the  wings  with  two  white  or  yellowish 
cross-bars.  Bill  and  feet  dark  plumbeous.  Fall  specimens  are 
commonly  yellower  than  in  spring.  Length  about  5.50  ;  extent, 
8.50  ;  wing,  2.75  ;  tail,  2.25  ;  bill,  0.40  ;.  tarsus,  0.70. 


204  VIREONID^E  :    GREENLETS. 

Massachusetts  has  been  thought  to  form  the  ex- 
treme southern  limit  of  the  Blue-headed  Greenlet  in 
the  breeding  season,  but  this  view  does  not  prove 
to  hold  good,  as  the  bird  breeds  in  Connecticut,  and 
even  in  the  Middle  StateSc  In  southern  New  Eng- 
land, however,  this  Vireo  is  chiefly  a  migrant  in  spring 
and  fall,  passing  on  into  the  Canadian  Fauna  to  breed 
in.  greater  abundance  there  than  in  the  Alleghanian. 
It  is  one  of  the  three  commoner  Vireos  of  northern 
New  England  in  summer,  the  Yellow-throated  and 
the  White-eyed  being  more  restricted  in  their  re- 

spective ranges, 
and  the  Phila- 
delphian  for  the 
most  part  pass- 
ing unnoticed.  It 
arrives  in  New 

FIG.  51.-  DETAILS  OF  STRUCTURE  OF  BLUE-HEADED        England      earlier 
GREENLET.     (Naturalize.) 


Vireos,  being  sometimes  seen  in  Massachusetts  in  the 
last  week  of  April,  and  likewise  lingers  later  in  the* 
fall  —  all  through  September,  and  occasionally  until 
the  middle  of  October.  Nests  have  been  found  in  Con- 
necticut and  Massachusetts  as  well  as  farther  north, 
but  the  bird  seems  to  be  nowhere  very  prominent  in 
the  composition  of  the  Avifauna.  It  is  scarcely  an 
inhabitant  of  the  streets  and  parks  like  the  Red-eyed 
or  Warbling  Greenlet,  preferring  the  solitude  of  the 
woods  ;  and  hence  less  frequently  comes  under  obser- 
vation. The  nest  is  described  as  resembling  that  of 
the  Yellow-throated  Greenlet,  being  composed  chiefly 
of  bark-strips,  fine  grasses,  and  rootlets,  ornamented 
with  mosses  and  lichens.  The  eggs  are  undistinguish- 


V.   NOVEBORACENSIS  I    WHITE-EYED    GREENLET.        205 

able  from  those  of  some  other  larger  Vireos,  most 
closely  resembling  those  of  the  Yellow-throated  in 
size  and  markings.  They  are  usually  laid  the  first 
week  in  June.  The  song  of  the  bird  is  an  agreeable 
one,  and  pitched  in  a  higher  key  than  that  of  our  other 
species. 


WHITE-EYED  GREENLET. 

VlREO    NOVEBORACENSIS       Gm. 


Chars.  Above,  bright  olive-green,  including  crown  ;  a  slight  ashy 
gloss  on  the  cervix,  and  the  rump  showing  yellowish  when  the 
feathers  are  disturbed  ;  below  white,  the  sides  of  breast  and  belly, 
the  axillars  and  crissum,  bright  yellow  ;  a  bright  yellow  line 
from  nostril  to  and  around  eye  ;  lores  dusky  ;  two  broad  yellow- 
ish wing-bars  ;  inner  secondaries  widely  edged  with  the  same  ; 
bill  and  feet  blackish-plumbeous  ;  eyes  white.  Length  about  5.50  ; 
wing,  2.33-2.50  ;  tail,  2.25  ;  spurious  quill,  0.75,  half  as  long  as 
the  2d,  which  about  equals  the  8th  ;  tarsus  about  0.75  ;  middle 
toe  and  claw,  0.50;  bill  nearly  0.50. 

Among  the  six  New  England  Vireos  the  White-eye 
is  conspicuous  by  its  absence  in  the  greater  part  of  the 
country,  and  further  distinguished  by  some  peculiar 
habits.  For  aught  we  know  to  the  contrary,  this  spe- 
cies is  strictly  limited  northward  by  the  Alleghanian 
Fauna,  and  is  more  abundant  in  the  Carolinian  than 
elsewhere.  Though  it  cannot  be  said  to  be  rare  in 
any  one  of  the  three  nether  States,  it  is  nevertheless 
very  unevenly  distributed  —  numerous  in  particular 
localities,  scarcely  or  not  to  be  found  in  others  equally 
eligible  to  all  appearance.  Nor  is  it  a  bird  either  of 
the  town  or  woodland  ;  its  home  is  in  the  shrubbery, 
with  Wrens  and  Maryland  Yellow-throats,  and  the 


206 


VIREONID^E  :    GREENLETS. 


nest  is  hung  on  a  bush  or  vine,  a  few  feet  only  from 
the  ground  —  always  in  thick  undergrowth,  and  fre- 
quently in  the  midst  of  a  swamp.  The  structure  is  not 
notably  different  from  that  of  the  Red-eyed  or  Warbling 
Vireos ;  and  the  eggs  are  only  to  be  distinguished  by 
their  decidedly  inferior  size.  Several  specimens  be- 
fore me,  however,  are  even  more  sparsely  sprinkled 
with  dark  dots,  and  one  is  immaculate.  They  are 
laid  early  in  June,  about  a  month  after  the  arrival  of 


FIG.  52.  —  DETAILS  OF  STRUCTURE  OF  WHITE-EYED  GREENLET.     (Natural  size.) 

the  bird.  These  Greenlets  have  considerable  force  of 
character,  as  one  will  learn  on  attempting  to  molest 
them  when  nesting;  they  are  nervous,  impulsive  little 
creatures,  of  highly  irritable  temperament.  If  let 
alone,  they  contain  themselves  very  well,  but  they  are 
as  cross-grained  as  Wrens  when  disturbed,  and  ex- 
press their  displeasure  with  most  vehement  scolding. 
The  nuptial  song  is  a  peculiar  one,  delivered  with 
strong  expression,  and  very  variable  in  intonation. 
The  birds  retire  early  in  the  autumn,  when  the  falling 
leaves  no  longer  afford  them  the  seclusion  they  covet. 


LANIUS    BOREALIS  :    BUTCHER-BIRD.  2C»7 


FAMILY  LANIID^E  :  SHRIKES. 

GREAT  NORTHERN  SHRIKE,  OR  BUTCHER- 
BIRD. 

LANIUS  BOREALIS  V. 

Chars.  Adults :  Clear  bluish-ash,  bleaching  on  the  scapulars  and 
upper  tail-coverts,  the  under  parts  pure  white,  always  more  or  less 
vermiculated  with  fine  wavy  cross-lines  of  dusky.  A  black  bar 
along  side  of  head,  not  meeting  its  fellow  across  forehead,  enclos- 
ing the  white  under  eyelid,  and  bordered  above  by  hoary  white, 
which  reaches  across  the  forehead.  Wings  black,  many  or  most 
of  the  quills  tipped  with  white,  and  a  large  white  spot  at  base 
of  primaries.  Tail  black,  the  outer  feather  mostly  white,  the 
next  three  or  four  tipped  with  white  in  decreasing  extent.  Bill 
and  feet  plumbeous-black.  Young  :  More  sordid  in  coloration,  the 
ashy  parts  of  the  adult  quite  brownish,  the  under  parts  brownish- 
white,  with  heavier  wavy  dark  marks ;  less  white  on  wings  and 
tail  than  in  the  adults  ;  bill  pale  at  base  below.  Length  about 
10.00  ;  extent,  14.50;  wing,  5.50;  tail  rather  more;  bill,  0.75; 
tarsus,  i.oo  or  less  ;  middle  toe  and  claw,  0.75. 

The  w  bold  brigand "  is  resident  in  the  Canadian 
Fauna ;  a  migrant  and  winter  visitant  in  other  parts 
of  New  England,  where  it  occurs  not  rarely,  but  irreg- 
ularly, being  common  at  some  seasons  and  much  less 
so  at  other  times.  Its  movements  appear  to  be  regu- 
lated more  by  the  varying  state  of  the  food-supply  than 
by  times  of  year.  It  is  known  to  breed  in  Maine,  but 
even  in  that  State  is  more  numerous  in  winter  and 
during  the  migrations  than  in  summer.  Like  the 
common  Snow-bird,  so  characteristic  of  the  Canadian 
Fauna  in  the  breeding  season,  it  indicates  the  exten- 


208  LANIID^E  :    SHRIKES. 

sion  of  this  Fauna  along  the  higher  points  of  the  Al- 
leghany  Mountains,  through  the  Middle  and  some  of 
the  Southern  States.  Its  nesting  in  the  mountains  of 
Pennsylvania  is  sufficiently  attested,  and  it  will  doubt- 
less be  found  to  breed  in  the  highest  parts  of  Massa- 
chusetts as  well  as  in  Maine.  In  1875,  Dr.  Brewer 
catalogued  it  as  "resident  "  in  northern  New  England. 
Dr.  Cones  having  subsequently  confirmed  the  accu- 
racy of  the  record,  Dr.  Brewer  was  led,  with  singular 


FIG.  53. — GREAT  NORTHERN  SHRIKE.    (Natural  size.) 

perversity,  to  challenge  his  own  statement  in  the  fol- 
lowing terms:  "It  is  perhaps  too  soon  to  decide  in 
regard  to  the  presence  or  absence  of  borealis  in  the 
breeding  season  within  the  United  States,  but  the  more 
the  subject  is  examined,  the  more  conclusive  appears 
to  be  the  evidence  that  there  are  no  data  in  support 
of  certain  opinions  so  positively  pronounced  on  the 
affirmative  side  "  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xx,  1879,  P-  2^7)- 
This  is  remarkable  language  from  one  who  had  him- 
self furnished  an  instance  of  the  fact  here  denied,  show- 
ing that  the  controversial  had  gotten  the  better  of  the 
scientific  spirit.  (See  Coues,  B.  Col.  Vail.,  1878,  p. 
561  ;  Brewer ^Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  1879,  P*  I2O0 


LANIUS    LUDOVICIANUS  I    LOGGERHEAD    SHRIKE.     209 

This  matter  aside,  the  Shrike  is  chiefly  known  in 
New  England  as  a  migrant  and  winter  resident,  from 
October  until  April.  They  may  be  seen  in  any  kind 
of  locality,  singly,  on  the  lookout  for  the  small  birds 
and  quadrupeds  which  form  their  prey  after  the  sup- 
ply of  grasshoppers  and  other  insects  ceases.  Bold 
and  even  rash  in  their  actions,  they  sometimes  leave 
the  woods  and  fields  to  enter  cities,  apparently  attract- 
ed by  the  abundance  of  European  Sparrows.  They 
have  frequently  been  seen  in  Boston  and  elsewhere, 
too  often  meeting  the  fate  which  ignorance  and  folly 
have  in  store  for  feathered  friends,  being  shot  without 
mercy.  One  winter,  says  Merriam,  it  was  no  uncom- 
mon thing  to  see  a  Shrike  flying  across  the  street  in 
New  Haven  with  a  Sparrow  in  its  talons.  "The 
'  poor  Sparrows/  unused  to  danger  of  any  sort,  were 
utterly  helpless,  and  at  one  time  it  seemed  as  if  we 
were  actually  going  to  be  rid  of  the  little  pests."  Ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Coues,  "  Boston  could  hardly  do  a  wiser 
thing,  as  far  as  the  Sparrow  plague  is  concerned,  than 
support  a  colony  of  Shrikes." 


LOGGERHEAD  SHRIKE. 
LANIUS  LUDOVICIANUS  L. 

Chars.  Slate-colored,  slightly  whitish  on  the  rump  and  scapulars, 
below  white,  with  a  few  obscure  wavy  black  lines  or  none  ;  black 
bar  on  side  of  head,  meeting  its  fellow  across  the  forehead,  not 
interrupted  by  white  on  under  eyelid,  and  scarcely  or  not  bordered 
above  by  hoary  white ;  otherwise  like  borealis  in  color,  but 
smaller.  Length  usually  under  9.00,  sometimes  only  8.00  ;  extent, 
12.00-13.00;  wing  and  tail,  each,  about  4.00  ;  bill,  0.66  ;  tarsus, 
i. oo  or  more.  The  young  differ  from  the  adults  much  as  those 
of  L.  borealis  do. 


2IO  LANIIDyf£  :    SHRIKES. 

Though  the  Loggerhead  has  been  rated  as  a  New 
England  bird  at  intervals  for  nearly  forty  years,  the 
earlier  records  are  without  exception  so  dubious  that 
Dr.  Coues  was  obliged  to  omit  the  species  from  his  list 
of  1868,  as  having  no  proven  right  to  a  place  there. 
It  now  appears,  however,  that  the  various  intimations 
we  have  long  had  of  the  presence  of  a  Shrike,  not  L. 
borcalis,  in  New  England,  were  founded  in  fact,  though 
none  of  the  early  indications  were  explicit  enough  to 
be  reliable.  The  occurrence  of  the  true  Loggerhead, 
and  also  of  the  variety  excUbitoridcs,  has  lately  been 
established.  The  following  is  the  authentic  New  Eng- 
land record  of  ludovicianus :  —  Purdie,  Am.  Nat.,  vii, 
1873,  p.  115  ;  Massachusetts ;  first  authentic  record  for 
that  State. — Maynard,  Am.  Sportsman,  v,  1875,  p. 
313;  Newtonville,  Mass.,  1874.  — Mcrriam,  Rev.  B. 
Conn.,  1877,  p.  33  ;  Portland,  Connecticut,  Nov.,  1876. 
—  Allen*  Bull.  Essex  Inst.,  x,  1878,  p.  15;  Lynn, 
Mass.,  Nov.,  1877.  — Purdtet  Forest  and  Stream,  xii, 
1879,  PP-  J66,  265  ;  Maine,  breeding  !  — Brewer,  Bull. 
Nutt.  Club,  iv,  1879,  P-  Ir9;  Maine  and  Vermont, 
breeding  !  —  Brewer,  Pr.  Bost.  Soc. ,  xx,  1879,  P*  22^  » 
the  same,  very  full  account. — Purdie,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club, 
iv,  1879,  P-  J86;  Maine,  breeding!  —  Dcanc,  Bull. 
Nutt.  Club,  iv,  1879,  P-  JI9  9  New  Hampshire.  —  Pur- 
die,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  1879,  P-  J86  J  Connecticut. 
-Dcanc,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v,  1880,  p.  50;  Maine, 
breeding  ! 

It  is  singular  how  rapidly  the  notices  accumulated, 
when  once  beginning,  after  so  long  a  period  of  silence 
or  doubt  on  the  subject.  The  best  article  is  that  fur- 
nished by  Dr.  Brewer,  who  goes  very  fully  into  the 
matter,  giving  the  interesting  details  of  the  Logger- 


LANIUS    LUDOVICIANUS  I    LOGGERHEAD    SHRIKE.       211 

head's  breeding  in  Maine  and  Vermont.  The  first  au- 
thentic notice  of  its  occurrence  in  New  England  was 
furnished  by  Mr.  Purdie,  on  the  strength  of  Mr.  S. 
J.  May's  shooting  the  bird  at  West  Newton,  Mass., 
Oct.  21,  1872.  The  specimen  recorded  by  Mr.  Allen 
was  taken  by  Mr.  N.  Vickary ;  Mr.  Merriam's  was 
secured  by  W.  W.  Coe.  Mr.  Deane's  New  Hamp- 
shire bird  was  taken  near  Concord,  Jan.  20,  1879. 
According  to  his  Maine  record  of  1880,  a  Loggerhead 
was  taken  with  a  nest  and  four  eggs,  at  Abbott,  Me., 
May  25,  1878,  by  Mr.  H.  R.  True.  Mr.  Purdie  has 
been  specially  active  in  bringing  the  history  of  the  bird 
forward.  His  notices  of  1879  re^er  to  Maine  and  Con- 
necticut cases.  In  the  former  State,  Mr.  S.  E.  Bowles 
discovered  three  nests  near  Bangor ;  in  the  latter,  Mr. 
J.  N.  Clark,  of  Saybrook,  secured  two  specimens  there, 
in  November,  1878,  and  January,  1879.  Dr.  Brewer's 
valuable  account  should  be  consulted  for  the  particu- 
lars of  nesting  in  Vermont  and  Maine. 

It  is  proper  to  add,  that  some  of  these  Loggerheads 
are  explicitly  stated  to  resemble  excubitorides  closely ; 
and  in  fact  it  is  only  by  the  predominance  of  slight 
characteristics  one  way  or  the  other  that  any  of  the 
smaller  Shrikes  found  in  New  England  can  be  referred 
to  either  variety. 

[Since  the  above  account  was  penned,  Mr.  Brew- 
ster  has  recorded  in  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  vi,  1881,  p.  55, 
another  Massachusetts  specimen  —  a  young  male  — 
shot  in  Brookline  in  February,  1879,  ^7  Mr.  Arthur 
Smith.] 


212  LANIID^E  :    SHRIKES. 

I 

WHITE-RUMPED  LOGGERHEAD  SHRIKE. 

LUDOVICIANUS    EXCUBITORIDES    (6z£>.) 

Chars,  With  the  size,  and  essential  characters  of  the  head-stripe, 
of  ludovicianus,  and  the  under  parts,  as  in  that  species,  not,  or 
not  obviously,  waved  ;  but  with  the  clear  light  ash  upper  parts, 
and  hoary  whitish  supraciliary  line,  scapulars,  and  rump,  of  borea- 
lis.  "  Extreme  examples  of  ludovicianus  and  excubitorides  look 
very  different,  but  they  are  observed  to  melt  into  each  other  when 
many  specimens  are  compared,  so  that  no  specific  character  can 
be  assigned."  Some  of  the  New  England  specimens  are  of  this 
mixed  character,  rendering  it  doubtful  which  variety  such  Logger- 
heads may  most  properly  be  considered  to  represent. 

The  assignation  of  this  variety  to  New  England 
probably  arose  from  a  remark  made  many  years  ago 
by  Nuttall  (Man.  Orn.,  ii,  1834,  P-  5^4)-  Emmons 
and  Peabody  appear  to  have  gone  upon  this  alone  ; 
and  when  Coues  retained  the  bird  in  his  list  of  1868, 
he  was  obliged  to  say  :  "  of  very  doubtful  occurrence  " 
(Pr.  Ess.  Inst.,  v,  1868,  p.  277).  In  1875,  Dr.  Brewer, 
very  properly  declined  to  recognize  it,  with  the  remark 
that  it  "  should  be  excluded  until  its  claim  is  established 
by  positive  proof."  Such  evidence  has  lately  been 
furnished  by  Mr.  Purdie  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  ii,  1877, 
p.  21 ),  who  states  that  Mr.  Jencks  shot  a  typical  spe- 
cimen in  Cranston,  R.  I.,  Sept.  2,  1873.  This  is  the 
first  and  so  far  the  only  authentic  record  of  actual  cap- 
ture within  our  limits.  But  the  bird  is  well  known  to 
occur  in  New  York  and  Canada,  in  both  of  which 
regions  it  breeds,  and  instances  of  its  presence  in  New 
England  will  doubtless  accumulate,  as  those  relating 
to  the  true  Loggerhead  have  already  done.  As  many 
such  specimens  will  partake  in  varying  degree  of  the 


L.  EXCUBITORIDES  I    WHITE-RUMPED    SHRIKE.     213 

characters  of  each  variety,  the  ingenuity  of  writers  will 
be  displayed  in  worrying  over  the  attempt  to  distin- 
guish on  paper  birds  which  nature  has  thus  far  been 
unsuccessful  in  separating  from  each  other  ;  and  much 
confusion  is  likely  to  be  the  result  of  their  efforts. 


214  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 


FAMILY  FRINGILLID^E  :  FINCHES. 

PINE  GROSBEAK. 

PlNICOLA    ENUCLEATOR   (L.)     Cab. 

Chars.  Adult  male  :  Carmine-red,  paler  or  whitish  on  the  belly, 
streaked  with  blackish  on  the  back ;  wings  and  tail  dusky,  with 
whitish  edging,  the  former  also  with  two  white  cross-bars.  Bill 
and  feet  blackish.  Female  :  Ashy-gray,  paler  below,  marked  with 
brownish-yellow  on  the  head  and  rump.  There  is  great  differ- 
ence in  the  shade  of  red  of  the  male,  and  in  the  saffron  markings 
of  the  female.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  of  our  Fringillida,  with  a 
remarkably  short,  stout  bill,  convex  in  all  its  outlines,  and  over- 
hanging tip  of  upper  mandible  —  almost  parrot-like.  Length, 
8.00-9.00;  extent,  about  14.00  ;  wing,  4.50  ;  tail,  4.00  ;  bill,  0.50  ; 
tarsus,  0.90. 

Resident  in  northern  New  England,  elsewhere  a 
migrant  and  a  winter  visitant.  There  is  no  question 
that  this  large  and  handsome  Grosbeak  breeds  in  some 
parts  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Vermont,  though 
the  fact  remains  to  be  established  by  actual  discovery 
of  a  properly  identified  nest.  A  nest  with  two  eggs, 
found  by  Mr.  Boardman  at  Calais,  was  supposed  with 
reason  to  belong  to  this  bird.  Mr.  Purdie  informs  me 
that  he  saw  birds  feeding  their  young  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, the  last  of  July  ;  and  Mr.  Brewster  has  described 
the  earliest  plumage  of  the  male  from  a  specimen  shot 
at  Upton,  Me.,  August  27th,  1874.  Like  species  of 
Loxia,  sEgtotkus,  and  Plcctrophanes,  the  boreal  bird 


PINICOLA   ENUCLEATOR  :    PINE    GROSBEAK.        215 

is  irregular  in  its  appearance  in  different  seasons, 
being  sometimes  abundant  in  southern  parts,  at  others 
quite  rare.  It  is  generally  observed  from  November 
until  April.  Probably  no  one  supposes  that  numbers 
of  the  birds  do  not  spread  at  large  in  southern  New 
England ;  but  their  movements  are  erratic,  being 
doubtless  largely  dependent  upon  the  weather  and  the 
state  of  the  food-supply.  According  to  Dr.  Brewer, 
they  are  sometimes  extremely  abundant  about  Boston, 
from  December  until  March,  feeding  chiefly  upon  the 
berries  of  the  red  cedar,  and  being  so  little  used  to 
danger  that  they  could  be  knocked  down  with  poles, 
or  caught  alive  in  butterfly  nets.  Numbers  were  de- 
stroyed for  the  market,  and  others  were  caged  alive. 
Severe  K  north-easters  "  drive  many  of  the  Grosbeaks 
from  their  usual  winter  resorts,  sometimes  sending 
them  in  flocks  with  the  Red-polls  and  Long-spurs  into 
the  Middle  and  even  the  Southern  States.  When 
wandering  about  in  such  fashion,  the  Grosbeaks  are 
not  entirely  confined  to  coniferous  tracts,  as  implied 
in  the  name,  and  few  of  the  carmined  males  are  seen 
in  comparison  with  the  numbers  of  the  gray  young 
and  females  which  are  usually  observed.  The  loud, 
rich  song  is  rarely  heard  except  in  the  summer  haunts 
of  the  bird.* 

*  In  this  connection  it  may  be.  observed,  that  the  Evening  Gros- 
beak, Hesperiphona  vespertina,  will  doubtless  be  added  hereafter  to 
the  list,  this  species  having  been  observed  so  near  the  New  England 
line  as  to  render  its  occurrence  within  our  limits  extremely  probable. 
(See  Cones,  Pr.  Essex  Inst,  v,  1868,  p.  312;  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv. 
1879,  p.  74.) 


2l6  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

PURPLE  GROSBEAK. 
CARPODACUS  PURPUREUS  (Gm.)    Gray. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Red,  most  intense  on  the  head,  mixed  with 
dusky  streaks  on  the  back,  fading  to  white  on  the  belly  and  vent 
Wings  and  tail  dusky,  with  reddish  edgings  of  the  feathers.  Ruff 
of  hoary  whitish  feathers  at  base  of  bill ;  bill  and  feet  horn-colored. 
The  shade  of  red  is  very  variable,  from  rosy  or  even  bronzy  to 
intense  crimson,  particularly  on  the  head  ;  there  is  little  if  any 
"  purple  "  tinge,  the  name  "  Purple  "  Finch,  and  the  use  of  this 
word  in  old  descriptions,  having  been  due  to  the  very  faulty  color- 
ing of  Catesby's  plate.  The  bird  is  not  crested,  but  has  a  habit  of 
erecting  the  feathers  of  the  head.  Bill  very  stout  and  turgid. 
Female,  and  young  male :  No  red ;  general  color  olive-brown, 
everywhere  streaked  with  whitish,  the  feathers  having  dark  cen- 
tres and  pale  edges  ;  belly  and  vent  white  ;  obscure  whitish  max- 
illary and  supraciliary  lines.  Males  changing  show  every  grada- 
tion between  the  colors  of  the  opposite  sexes  ;  they  frequently 
have  saffron  or  bronzy  tints.  The  female  resembles  in  color 
some  of  the  streaked  sparrows,  but  will  be  recognized  by  the  short 
stout  bill,  small  feet,  long  pointed  wings  and  short  emarginate 
tail.  Length,  5.75-6.25  ;  wing,  3.00-3.25;  tail,  2.25-2.50;  tarsus, 
0.60  ;  middle  toe  and  claw,  0.85  ;  bill,  scarcely  0.50. 

Though  given  by  Dr.  Brewer  only  as  a  "  summer 
resident,"  and  doubtless  more  abundant  at  that  season 
than  during  the  opposite  period  of  the  year,  this  charm- 
ing bird  is  nevertheless  found  in  New  England  at  all 
times.  The  "Purple  Finch,"  or  "Linnet,"  as  it  is 
commonly  called,  breeds  abundantly  in  the  Canadian 
and  Alleghanian  Faunae  —  the  latter  being  in  fact  its 
centre  of  abundance  in  the  breeding  season  ;  at  which 
time  the  bird  is  probably  nowhere  more  numerous  than 
in  Massachusetts.  It  mostly  or  entirely  withdraws  from 
the  northerly  portions  of  its  summer  home,  and  great 
numbers  spread  in  winter  over  the  Middle  and  Southern 


CARPODACUS    PURPUREUS  :    PURPLE    GROSBEAK.    2 17 

States ;  but  many  others  regularly  pass  that  season  in 
southern  New  England.  Their  ranks  recruited  by  the 
new  arrivals  in  early  April,  the  Linnets  soon  become 
very  noticeable  birds,  and  they  continue  in  undimin- 
ished  numbers  until  October.  They  also  appear  to  be 
on  the  increase  in  some  parts  of  New  England,  where 
progressive  horticulture  invites  their  presence,  for  they 
are  very  fond  of  feeding  on  the  blossoms  of  fruit-trees, 
and  have  earned  the  reputation,  not  wholly  undeserved, 
of  doing  much  damage  in  this  way.  Like  the  "  House 
Finch  "  (  Carfodacus  frontalis)  of  the  southwest,  this 
species  shows  special  apti- 
tude for  the  society  of  man, 
and  nests  by  preference  in  the 
most  thickly  settled  and  well 
cultivated  localities  ;  where  its 
sweet  song  and  gay  colors 

WOUld    make    it    a    great    favor-     FIG.  54.  -  BILL  OF  PURPLE  GROS- 

r  .  BEAK.     (Natural  size. ) 

ite,  were  it  not  tor  the  way  it 

has  of  operating  in  fruit-blossoms.  Among  its  own 
kind,  it  shows  the  same  familiar  and  sociable  traits 
that  it  is  inclined  to  display  toward  man,  and  is 
almost  always  found  in  flocks,  except  when  paired  for 
the  season.  Its  manners  are  habitually  gentle  and 
agreeable,  notwithstanding  the  differences  of  opinion 
that  not  seldom  occasion  those  exhibitions  of  temper 
which  the  spirited  bird  is  likely  to  give  when  irritated. 
The  nest  will  be  found  situated  on  the  horizontal 
branch  of  a  tree,  or  in  a  fork,  at  any  moderate  distance 
from  the  ground,  preference  being  shown  for  ever- 
greens and  orchard-trees.  The  materials  employed  are 
most  miscellaneous  —  weed-stalks,  bark-strips,  root- 
lets, grasses  —  almost  any  vegetable  fibre  being  avail- 


2l8  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

able ;  the  rather  flat  and  shallow  structure  being  usu- 
ally lined  with  hairs.  The  eggs,  to  the  number  of  four 
or  five,  are  pale  dull  greenish  or  almost  whitish  in 
ground-color,  sparsely  sprinkled  and  scratched,  chiefly 
at  the  larger  end,  with  rather  small  blackish  surface- 
markings  and  lilac  shell-spots ;  they  measure  about 
0.85  by  0.65.  Both  nest  and  eggs  may  remind  one 
of  the  Chipping  Sparrow's  on  a  large  scale.  Two  sets 
are  commonly  laid,  at  least  in  southern  New  England  ; 
the  first  about  the  end  of  May,  the  next  in  July.  The 
male  does  not  gain  his  full  dress  the  first  year,  and 
more  gray  than  red  birds  are  always  to  be  seen. 


WHITE-WINGED   CROSSBILL. 

LOXIA    LEUCOPTERA    Gm. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Rosy-red  ;  feathers  of  the  back  dark-centred  ; 
wings  and  tail  blackish,  the  former  with  two  conspicuous  white 
cross-bars.  Bill  horn-color  ;  both  mandibles  falcate,  with  crossed 
points.  The  shade  of  red  varies  greatly,  but  is  never  bricky  or 
cinnabar,  as  in  the  other  species  of  Loxia.  Female  and  young  : 
Olive-brown,  the  feathers  dark-centred;  rump  saffron  or  gam- 
boge yellow  ;  wing-bars  present.  Length,  5.75-6.00  ;  wing,  3.40  ; 
tail,  2.25,  forked  ;  bill,  0.65  ;  tarsus,  0.65. 

In  the  Canadian  Fauna  resident ;  elsewhere  in  New 
England  an  irregular  winter  visitor,  of  greater  or  less 
rarity.  The  bird  has  however  been  seen  in  Massachu- 
setts in  summer,  Mr.  Maynard  having  taken. a  speci- 
men at  Newtonville  in  June.  The  Crossbills  of  both 
species  are  birds  of  the  most  strongly-marked  origi- 
nality of  character,  and  it  is  never  safe  to  predict  what 
they  may  or  may  not  be  found  about.  Their  most  re- 


LOXIA  LEUCOPTERA:  WHITE-WINGED  CROSSBILL.    219 

markable  habit  is  that  of  breeding  in  winter,  or  very 
early  in  the  spring,  when  one  would  think  it  impossi- 
ble that  the  callow  young  could  endure  the  rigors  of 
the  season.  They  are  most  devoted  parents,  seeming 
entirely  insensible  of  danger  in  the  defence  of  their 
homes ;  and  at  all  times,  indeed,  betray  a  confidence 
in  man  that  is  too  often  misplaced,  and  that  seems  the 
height  of  folly  to  one  who  knows  as  much  of  human 


FIG.  55.  —  WHITE  WINGED  CROSSBILL.    (Reduced.) 

nature  as  most  people  find  out,  sooner  or  later,  to  their 
cost.  The  birds  are  much  attached  to  pine  woods,  the 
seeds  of  the  conifers  furnishing  them  abundant  food, 
of  a  kind  that  their  curiously  shaped  bills  enable  them 
to  secure  with  great  ease  and  address.  From  their 
summer  resorts  in  the  depth  of  evergreen  woods  the 
Crossbills  come  flocking  in  the  fall  to  all  other  parts  of 
New  England  and  beyond,  generally  associated  with 
the  other  species,  or  with  Pine  Grosbeaks  and  Red- 
polls, always  gentle,  unsuspicious,  and  apparently 
quite  at  their  ease.  They  are  not  so  common,  how- 


22O  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

ever,  as  the  Red  Crossbills  are,  and  both  species  take 
such  freaks  in  deciding  their  course  of  action  that  their 
appearance  can  never  be  relied  upon.  It  need  surprise 
no  one  to  come  upon  a  pair  of  Crossbills  breeding  any- 
where in  New  England,  though  the  general  tenor  of 
the  Crossbills'  way  is  as  above  intimated ;  for  they 
seem  to  be  quite  independent  of  weather  and  season. 
Their  diet  is  not  so  exclusive  as  many  suppose ;  the 
birds  may  sometimes  be  seen  helping  themselves  to  de- 
cayed garden  fruits.  Mr.  Maynard  has  observed  them 
feeding  on  the  seeds  of  beach-grass,  and  has  also  found 
the  stomach  filled  with  canker-worms.  The  eggs  are 
still  considered  a  great  prize,  few  having  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  naturalists.  They  are  described  as  pale 
blue,  with  the  larger  end  rather  thickly  spattered  with 
fine  dots  of  black  and  ashy-lilac;  the  size  being  0.80 X 
0.56.  They  thus  resemble  those  of  the  Purple  Finch, 
and  are  probably  indistinguishable  from  those  of  the 
Red  Crossbill.  Both  species  of  Crossbills  have  a  chat- 
tering or  rattling  note,  usually  uttered  as  they  fly  ;  but 
the  true  song  is  seldom  heard  south  of  their  nesting 
grounds. 

Dr.  Brewer  gives  an  interesting  account  of  a  pair 
of  these  birds  which  he  kept  for  some  time  in  a  cage. 
They  grew  very  tame,  and  made  interesting  pets. 
Their  movements  were  parrot-like,  though  more  rapid 
and  easy,  as  they  clung  to  the  upper  and  side  wires 
of  the  cage  with  their  feet,  and  seemed  to  enjoy  the 
practice  of  thus  walking  hanging  head  downward. 
They  were  both  good  singers,  uttering  irregular  and 
varied  but  musical  notes,  and  fed  readily  upon  almost 
any  kind  of  food,  though  seeming  to  be  specially  fond 
of  slices  of  apple. 


L.  CURVIROSTRA    AMERICANA:    RED    CROSSBILL.       221 

AMERICAN   RED  CROSSBILL. 

LOXIA    CURVIROSTRA    AMERICANA   (  Wtls.)    Coues. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Bricky-red,  not  rosy,  the  feathers  of  the  back 
with  dusky  centres ;  wings  and  tail  dusky,  without  white  bars. 
The  shade  of  red  varies  interminably,  but  is  probably  never  of 
the  rosy  hue  characteristic  of  L.  leucoplera.  Young  birds  and 
females  resemble  each  other  and  the  corresponding  conditions 
of  leucoptera,  but  have  no  white  on  the  wings.  Bronzy-red  and 
even  yellow  males  are  sometimes  seen.  Young  males  changing 
show  confused  characters  of  the  two  sexes  ;  besides  the  yellow 
regularly  present  in  the  female  and  young,  there  is  often  a  good 
deal  of  saffron  or  gamboge  coloring  of  immature  males.  Size 
of  the  last  species. 

The  remarks  made  respecting  the  White-winged 
Crossbill  are  equally  applicable  to  the  present  species, 
with  the  single  exception  that  the  Red  Crossbill  is 
much  more  numerous  than  its  relative.  It  is  therefore, 
but  only  for  this  reason,  more  to  be  depended  upon  as 
a  regular  migrant  and  winter  visitant  in  southern  New 
England  ;  for  its  disposition  is  not  less  freaky,  nor  are 
its  movements  less  erratic,  than  in  the  case  of  the 
White-winged.  Both  species  in  fact  are  often  seen  to- 
gether, in  relative  numbers  corresponding  to  the  greater 
general  abundance  of  the  Red  Crossbill.  Probably 
for  the  same  reason  more  has  been  learned  of  the  nidi- 
fication  of  the  latter.  We  have  the  excellent  authori- 
ty of  Mr.  Boardman  for  its  nesting  in  Maine  during 
the  month  of  February.  A  Vermont  instance  first 
published  by  Dr.  Brewer  is  also  in  full  circulation  now, 
and  we  faithfully  repeat  that  Mr.  Charles  S.  Paine 
found  a  nest  on  an  upper  branch  of  a  leafless  elm  in 
East  Randolph,  early  in  March,  when  the  ground  was 


222  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

covered  with  snow,  and  the  weather  was  severe.  The 
parents  were  so  devoted  to  their  charge  that  they  were 
removed  from  the  nest  by  hand.  The  eggs  were  four 
in  number,  measuring  0.85x0.53,  of  a  greenish-white 
ground-color,  beautifully  blotched,  marbled,  and  dotted 
with  various  shades  of  lilac  and  purplish-brown.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Allen  some  specimens  procured  by  Mr. 
Horace  Mann,  at  Weston,  Mass.,  in  May,  1862,  were 
so  immature  that  it  seemed  hardly  possible  to  suppose 
they  were  not  bred  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  Mr.  E. 
P.  Bicknell  has  lately  given  some  interesting  particu- 
lars of  a  nest  found  in  New  York,  near  the  Connecticut 
line,  April  22,  1879  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v,  1880,  p.  7). 
Such  facts  as  these  corroborate  and  establish  what 
has  been  said  respecting  the  preceding  species  —  that 
a  pair  of  Crossbills  may  be  found  nesting  anywhere 
in  New  England. 


RED-POLL  LINNET. 

LINARIA  (Z.)  Cab. 

Chars.  A  small  species,  with  extremely  acute  bill,  conspicuously 
ruffed  at  base  of  upper  mandible,  long  pointed  wings  and  rather 
short  forked  tail,  nearly  all  the  plumage  streaked  with  light  and 
dark  colors  ;  crown  with  a  crimson  patch  ;  chin  dusky.  Male, 
adult:  Upper  parts  streaked  with  flaxen  and  dusky  in  about 
equal  amounts  ;  rump  rosy-white,  always  streaked  with  dusky ; 
below,  white,  heavily  streaked  except  on  the  belly,  the  breast 
tinged  with  rosy  ;  bill  mostly  yellow,  but  black  in  summer  ;  feet 
blackish.  Female  and  young:  Similar,  and  showing  the  crimson 
crown -patch,  but  lacking  the  rosy  on  the  rump  and  breast. 
Length,  5.00-5.50  ;  extent,  8.50  ;  wing,  2.75  ;  tail,  2.25  ;  middle 
toe  and  claw  as  long  as  the  tarsus. 


^EGIOTHUS    LINARIA  I    RED-POLL    LINNET.          223 

This  interesting  bird  only  occurs  in  New  England  as 
a  migrant  and  winter  visitant  from  the  North,  being 
limited  in  southward  extension  in  the  breeding  season 
by  the  Hudsonian  Fauna.  Like  other  boreal  Fringil- 
lidce  which  come  south  in  the  fall  from  their  breeding 
grounds  in  high  latitudes,  the  Red-poll  occurs  in  flocks 
of  greater  or  less  extent,  often  in  company  with  Pine 
Grosbeaks  and  Crossbills ;  but  is  so  irregular  in  its 
movements  that  its  appearance  cannot  be  relied  upon, 
and  that  the  times  of  its  entering  and  leaving  our 
country  cannot  be  given  with  precision.  It  is  com- 
monly seen  from  November  to  March,  both  inclusive, 
in  roving  flocks,  which  roam  about  woods,  groves, 
and  weedy  fields,  wandering  incessantly  in  search  of 
the  seeds  which  at  this  season  constitute  their  sole  fare. 
Though  not  a  wary  or  suspicious  bird,  it  is  timid  and 
easily  startled  from  its  feeding  grounds,  when  the 
alarmed  flock  hurries  to  the  top  of  some  leafless  tree, 
until  sufficiently  reassured  to  descend  again  to  the 
weeds  and  scatter  in  search  of  food.  Some  seasons 
the  Red-polls  are  among  the  most  abundant  winter 
birds  of  southern  New  England ;  at  others  none  may 
appear  in  the  same  localities  where  they  were  before 
so  numerous.  They  have  an  agreeable  call-note,  fre- 
quently uttered  when  the  flock  is  dispersed  to  glean 
for  food,  or  when  roving  in  a  compact  body  from  place 
to  place.  It  resembles  that  of  the  Goldfinch  and  Pine 
Siskin,  having  much  of  the  same  lisping  sibilant  qual- 
ity ;  and  indeed  the  general  habits  of  the  Red-polls  in 
winter  remind  one  of  those  of  the  familiar  Thistle-bird 
at  the  same  season.  The  eggs,  four  or  five  in  num- 
ber, are  very  pale  bluish,  finely  speckled  all  over  with 
reddish-brown,  and  measure  about  0.65  by  0.52. 


224  FRINGILLID^E  I    FINCHES. 

AMERICAN  MEALY  RED-POLL. 
EXILIPES   Coues. 


Chars.  Similar  to  the  common  Red-poll.  Colors  paler,  white  re- 
placing the  flaxen  of  linaria,  and  often  predominating  over  the 
dark  streaking  ;  rump  white  or  rosy-white,  entirely  unmarked  ; 
breast  pale  rosy;  streaks  on  the  sides  slight  and  sparse;  bill  very 
small,  heavily  ruffed  at  base  of  upper  mandible  ;  feet  remarkably 
small,  the  middle  toe  and  claw  together  hardly  as  long  as  the  tar- 
sus. General  dimensions  those  of  linaria. 

The  true  "Mealy  Red-poll,"  sEgiothus  canescens,  is 
given  by  Dr.  Brewer  in  his  List  of  1875  as  a  bird  of 
New  England  ;  but  it  has  never  been  known  to  occur 
there,  nor  indeed  anywhere  in  North  America,  the 
present  species  being  doubtless  the  bird  he  had  in 
view.  The  American  Mealy  Red-poll,  which  rep- 
resents in  continental  America  the  bird  of  Greenland, 
is  even  a  more  boreal  species  than  ^f?.  linaria,  appar- 
ently of  rare  and  exceptional  occurrence  in  New  Eng- 
land. It  has  however  been  occasionally  seen  there 
in  winter,  as  reported  by  various  writers  since  the  days 
of  Audubon.  Whatever  be  its  true  status,  as  com- 
pared with  other  hyperborean  races  of  Red-polls,  it  is 
easily  distinguished  from  linaria  by  the  pure  rosy- 
white,  unstreaked  rump,  and  other  characteristics  given 
in  the  above  description.  It  is  perhaps  less  rare  and 
exceptional  in  New  England  than  appears  to  be  the 
case  —  not  one  Red-poll  in  a  thousand  of  those  visiting 
us  in  winter  is  shot  and  examined,  and  the  general  sim- 
ilarity of  the  two  kinds  render  the  rarer  one  very  liable 
to  be  overlooked.  It  was  only  allowed  by  Dr.  Brewer 
to  be  found  in  eastern  Maine  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xvii, 


LINOTA    BREWSTERI  !    BREWSTER's    LINNET.       225 

1875,  P-  441)  '  but  Mr.  W.  A.  Jeffries  took  the  liberty 
of  shooting  a  Mealy  Red-poll  in  Swampscott,  Mass., 
Nov.  16,  1878  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  Apr.,  1879,  p. 
121 ),  and  Dr.  Brewer,  in  alluding  to  this  circumstance, 
speaks  of  another  Massachusetts  specimen  which  he 
found  in  the  collection  of  F.  P.  Atkinson  (Pr.  Bost. 
Soc.,  xx,  1879,  P-  27°)-  Mr.  J.  A.  Allen  had  pre- 
viously attributed  the  bird  to  Massachusetts  (Am.  Nat., 
iii,  1870,  p.  583),  although  he  was  at  that  time  averse 
to  consider  it  as  a  good  species,  he  having  recognized 
among  a  number  of  Red-polls  shot  in  that  State  four 
of  the  supposed  species  given  in  Dr.  Coues's  "  Mon- 
ograph." 


BREWSTER'S   LINNET. 
LINOTA  FLAVIROSTRIS  BREWSTERI  (Rdgw.}  Coues. 


Chars.     With  the  general  appearance  of  an  immature 

this  bird  will  be  recognized  by  absence  of  any  crimson  on  the 
crown  and  of  black  on  the  chin,  a  peculiar  yellowish  shade  on 
the  lower  back,  and  somewhat  different  proportions. 

The  type  and  only  known  specimen  of  this  alleged 
species  was  shot  out  of  a  flock  of  Red-polls  at  Wal- 
tham,  Mass.,  Nov.  i,  1870,  by  Mr.  William  Brewster, 
and  described  as  new  by  Mr.  Ridgway  in  the  Ameri- 
can Naturalist,  vi,  July,  1872,  p.  433.  Nothing  further 
being  known  of  the  bird,  we  are  much  in  the  dark  re- 
specting its  real  character,  and  the  circumstances  of 
its  presence  in  New  England.  It  is  apparently  not  a 
Red-poll  (sEgwthus),  and  is  certainly  different  from 
any  recognized  North  American  bird  ;  but  its  relation- 
ship to  some  European  species  is  still  in  question. 
15 


226  FRINGILLIDyE  :    FINCHES. 

AMERICAN  GOLDFINCH  ;    THISTLE-BIRD  ; 
YELLOW-BIRD. 

ASTRAGALINUS  TRisTis  (Ltnn.)  Cab. 

Chars.  Male  in  summer :  Clear  bright  yellow,  whitening  on  the 
tail-coverts;  the  head  with  a  black  cap ;  the  wings  and  tail  black, 
the  former  edged  and  crossed,  the  latter  spotted,  with  white ;  lesser 
wing-coverts  yellow;  bill  and  feet  flesh-colored.  Male,  from  Sep- 
tember to  the  following  April :  The  yellow  replaced  by  flaxen- 
brown,  paler  or  whitish  below,  the  black  cap  wanting.  Female : 
Like  the  winter  male,  but  more  of  an  olivaceous  shade  above,  and 
soiled  yellowish  below;  no  black  cap;  wings  and  tail  merely 
dusky  instead  of  black,  with  whitish  markings.  Length  nearly 
or  about  4.75  ;  extent,  8.00;  wing,  2.75;  tail,  2.00,  forked. 

This  is  one  of  our  common  and  familiar  birds,  of  gay 
colors,  sweet  song,  agreeable  presence,  and  innocent, 
engaging  habits  —  altogether  quite  worthy  of  the  favor 
with  which  it  is  regarded  by  all.  Though  giving  the 
impression  of  a  delicate  bird,  like  other  brightly  plu- 
maged  species  which  bring,  as  it  were,  suspicion  of 
tropical  luxury  to  our  stricter  climate,  the  Thistle-bird 
is  really  quite  a  hardy  little  creature,  capable  of  taking 
a  New  England  winter  as  it  comes,  anywhere  in  the 
Alleghanian  Fauna.  Those  which  are  reared  north 
of  this  retire  in  the  fall,  but  from  Massachusetts  south- 
ward the  flaxen-haired  troops  of  these  child-like 
Finches  remain  all  the  year  round,  describing  in  the 
storm  the  same  smooth  wavy  line  of  flight  that  marks 
their  rising  to  the  summer  breeze,  lisping  meanwhile 
their  gentle  thoughts  no  less  contentedly  than  when 
they  take  the  gold  and  jet  from  the  lavish  hand  of 
spring.  When  pairing  time  comes,  the  Yellow-birds 
dissociate ;  leaving  the  patches  of  thistle  and  waste 


ASTRAGALINUS    TRISTIS  I    AMERICAN    GOLDFINCH.       227 

weed,  whose  enduring  seeds  had  served  them  well  in 
periods  of  scarcity,  they  enter  cultivated  ground,  and 
generally  choose  to  nest  in  a  shade  or  fruit  tree,  near 
the  house  —  at  farthest  by  the  roadside,  or  in  the  ad- 
joining neglected  field.  A  neat,  compact,  and  substan- 
tial fabric,  of  the  most  miscellaneous  material,  so  it  be 
soft,  warm,  and  susceptible  of  felting,  is  placed  in  the 
crotch  formed  by  several  upright  twigs,  or  in  the  fork 
of  a  branchlet,  anywhere  from  a  man's  height  to  twen- 
ty or  thirty  feet  from  the  ground.  The  nest  is  deeply 
cupped,  with  a  well-turned  brim,  and  smoothly  lined 
with  plant-down,  or  sometimes  hairs  ;  the  whole  struct- 
ure resembling  that  of  the  Summer  Warbler,  or  one 
of  the  smaller  Flycatchers.  The  eggs,  from  four  to 
six  in  number,  resemble  the  paler  sorts  of  Blue-bird 
eggs  which  we  often  see,  being  faintly  bluish-white, 
and  normally  without  any  markings  ;  but  they  are  of 
course  much  smaller,  measuring  only  about  0.65  xo-5o. 
The  Finches  occupy  themselves  very  assiduously  and 
persistently  in  their  household  affairs,  which,  begin- 
ning early  in  June,  are  not  entirely  concluded  until 
some  time  in  August ;  during  which  period  more  than 
one  brood  is  commonly  the  happy  result  of  their  in- 
dustrious mutual  devotion.  In  August,  when  sturdy 
Composites  assert  the  full  power  of  that  invincible 
order  of  plants,  overrunning  the  garden,  field  and 
"wayside,  blowing  their  thousand-seed  everywhere,  the 
Goldfinches  doff  satin  for  linen,  and  grow  quite  com- 
fortably commonplace,  as  befits  their  homely  attire. 
The  flocks,  so  long  separated  and  engrossed  in  indi- 
vidual cares,  make  up  again,  with  all  the  rising  gen- 
eration as  new-comers,  to  loiter  about  the  kitchen-gar- 
dens, the  patches  of  truculent  thistles  that  obstruct  the 


228  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

way,  and  all  the  nameless  nooks  where  seeding  weeds 
abound.  The  song  of  summer  passes  with  the  brilliant 
plumage  it  inspires ;  but  the  birds  seem  never  to  tire 
of  the  twittering  gossip  they  give  each  other  in  token 
of  the  harmony  that  prevails  among  these  companion- 
able creatures.  Some,  less  satisfied  or  less  confident, 
make  off  in  October  to  more  congenial  winter  homes; 
but  many  remain  on  hand  to  greet  with  hospitable 
words  the  roving  bands  of  Red-polls  which  come  from 
the  north  in  the  depth  of  winter. 


PINE   LINNET;   AMERICAN   SISKIN. 
CHRYSOMITRIS  PINUS  (  Wi7s.}  Bp. 

Chars.  Above,  continuously  streaked  with  dusky  and  olive-brown 
or  flaxen  ;  below,  similarly  streaked  with  dusky  and  whitish  ;  the 
whole  plumage  more  or  less  suffused  with  yellowish,  especially 
on  the  rump  ;  bases  and  edges  of  the  wing-  and  tail-feathers  more 
or  less  extensively  yellow  ;  no  red  anywhere  ;  no  definite  black 
on  the  head.  Bill  and  feet  dark.  Plumage  very  variable  in  ex- 
tent and  purity  of  the  sulphury-yellow.  Young  birds  more  or 
less  suffused  with  buffer  flaxen.  The  yellow  of  the  wings  and 
tail  is  peculiar  to  this  species.  The  sexes  are  alike.  Length, 
4.75  ;  extent,  8.75  ;  wing,  2.75,  pointed  ;  tail,  1.75,  forked. 

This  Siskin  is  not  distantly  related  to  the  Red-poll 
and  Crossbill,  like  which  species  it  is  a  bird  of  irregu- 
lar movements ;  the  manner  of  its  presence  in  New 
England  being  therefore  so  uncertain  as  to  require 
qualified  expression.  Properly  speaking,  it  belongs 
to  the  Canadian  Fauna,  and  such  area  limits  its  south- 
ward dispersion  in  the  breeding  season ;  the  bird 
being  hence  resident  in  northern  New  Engla'nd,  a  mi- 
grant or  winter  visitant  in  other  parts  of  this  country. 


CHRYSOMITRIS    PINUS  :    PINE    LINNET. 

In  Maine  and  northerly  or  alpine  Vermont  and  New 
Hampshire,  where  the  pine  tracts  invite  a  summer 
home,  it  sometimes  stays  all  the  year  round,  and  is  to 
be  found  in  winter  with  Red-polls  and  Crossbills ;  but 
a  migration  of  most  individuals  commonly  occurs, 
spreading  the  birds  through  parts  of  New  England 
where  they  are  unknown  to  breed,  and  thence  onward 
along  the  Atlantic  States  even  to  Florida.  Again, 
Siskins  have  been  found  nesting  in  the  Alleghanian 
Fauna,  as  for  example  at  Cambridge,  Mass.  In  the 
last-named  State  however,  as  well  as  in  Connecticut 
and  Rhode  Island,  they  are  chiefly  seen  from  October 
to  May,  infocks,  associated  with  Goldfinches.  Their 
strong  instinct  of  sociability  is  seldom  entirely  over- 
come, even  in  the  pairing  season ;  for  they  often  or 
usually  breed  in  communities,  large  numbers  occupy- 
ing for  that  purpose  the  same  tract  of  evergreen  wood 
or  swamp,  sometimes  shared  by  equal  numbers  of 
Crossbills.  An  interesting  account  of  such  a  nesting- 
place  in  New  York  State  has  been  given  by  Mr.  Mer- 
riam  (Forest  and  Stream,  x,  1878,  p.  463).  The  flocks 
which  "  make  up  "  in  the  fall  sometimes  number  hun- 
dreds of  individuals,  and  scour  the  country  in  the  most 
erratic  manner,  like  Red-polls  ;  but  smaller  troops  are 
oftener  observed  to  roam  about  in  quest  of  food,  con- 
ducting themselves  much  like  Goldfinches  under  the 
same  circumstances.  The  lisping,  querulous  call- 
notes,  the  smoothly  undulating  mode  of  flight,  and  the 
general  appearance  of  Goldfinches  and  Siskins,  as 
well  as  their  food  and  manner  of  procuring  it,  are 
much  the  same.  They  are  seed-eaters  in  the  strictest 
sense,  but  fond  of  varying  their  fare  to  the  utmost ;' 
now  rising  in  numbers  to  husk  the  fruit  of  the  largest 


23O  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

conifers,  now  falling  with  equal  avidity  upon  waste 
weedy  tracts,  to  glean  the  seeds  of  coarse  plants  near 
the  ground.  The  gullet  is  very  capacious,  almost  like 
the  crop  of  a  fowl  or  pigeon,  and  the  greedy  birds 
sometimes  stuff  themselves  full  to  the  throat  —  putting 
more  grist  in  the  hopper  than  the  gizzard  can  grind  at 
once.  They  are  not  less  irregular  in  their  times  of 
nesting  than  in  their  other  habits  ;  but  they  breed  early 
as  a  rule.  The  Cambridge  nest  above  mentioned  had 
its  full  complement  of  four  eggs  on  the  pth  of  May ; 
and  Mr.  Merriam's  New  York  observations  upon  the 
nests  were  made  in  April.  Common  and  well-known 
as  the  birds  themselves  are,  the  nest  and  eggs  have 
seldom  come  to  the  notice  of  naturalists ;  for  the 
structure  is  usually  placed  high  up  in  evergreen  trees, 
artfully  concealed  in  the  thick  tufts  of  foliage.  The 
eggs  are  more  like  Red-polls'  than  Goldfinches',  be- 
ing of  a  decided  though  pale  greenish  ground-color, 
and  quite  spotted  with  brownish,  chiefly  on  the  larger 
end;  they  measure  about  0.70x0.50. 


SNOW    BUNTING  ;    SNOW-FLAKE. 

PLECTROPHANES  NIVALIS  (£•)  Mey. 

Chars.  In  summer  :  Pure  white,  the  middle  of  the  back,  the  wings, 
and  the  tail,  mostly  black  ;  bill  and  feet  black.  Seldom  if  ever 
seen  in  this  perfect  dress  in  the  United  States.  As  found  with 
us,  the  white  is  variously  clouded  with  rich  warm  brown,  which 
colors  most  of  the  upper  parts,  washes  along  the  sides  of  the 
body,  forms  a  collar  on  the  breast  and  a  patch  on  the  ears,  and 
deepens  to  blackish  on  the  crown  ;  the  black  dorsal  area  is  mixed 
with  brown  and  white  ;  the  feet  are  black  as  in  summer,  but 
the  bill  is  mostly  or  entirely  yellowish.  Length,  about  7.00  ;  ex- 
tent, 13.00  ;  wing,  4.50  ;  tail,  2.75. 


PLECTROPHANES    NIVALIS  :    SNOW    BUNTING.       23! 

The  "  Snow-flake  "  is  well  named ;  it  comes  and 
goes  with  these  beautiful  crystallizations  as  if  itself 
one  of  them,  and  comes  at  times  only  less  thickly. 
Thousands  whirl  into  New  England  late  in  the  fail,  on 
wings  as  wayward  as  those  of«  the  storm  that  urges 
them  on ;  but,  though  thus  irregular  in  their  appear- 
ance, according  to  stress  of  weather,  no  winter  passes 
without  its  Buntings,  and  it  is  not  until  April  that  the 
last  of  the  birds  is  seen.  Under  such  circumstances 
the  whole  of  New  England  is  visited,  one  season  or 
another;  but  the  presence  of  flocks  of  Snow-birds  in 
any  given  locality  is  fortuitous,  and  the  more  so,  of 
course,  the  farther  south  be  the  spot.  During  excur- 
sions protracted  so  far  from  their  summer  haunts,  and 
under  conditions  which  leave  to  the  birds  little  scope 
for  individual  preferences,  the  Buntings  are  not  less 
gregarious  than  Red-polls ;  being  usually  found  in 
large  assemblies,  or  not  at  all.  They  are  terrestrial  in 
habits  —  quite  as  much  so  as  Shore-larks  or  Pipits  ; 
they  run  nimbly  over  the  ground,  where  their  food  is 
gleaned,  and  appear  to  have  some  difficulty  in  perch- 
ing ;  hence,  they  are  usually  seen  in  the  most  open 
places,  and  not  in  the  thickets  to  which  some  of  the 
other  boreal  Finches  resort  during  their  visits.  The 
desolation  of  places  exposed  in  all  their  nakedness  to 
the  fury  of  mid-winter  blasts  is  relieved  by  the  presence 
of  the  hardy  creatures ;  these  "  most  picturesque  of 
our  winter-birds,"  as  Minot  says,  which  "  often  enliven 
an  otherwise  dreary  scene,  especially  when  flying ;  for 
they  then  seem  almost  like  an  animated  storm." 

Snow  Buntings  are  so  common  in  winter,  that  it  need 
surprise  no  one  to  learn  that  now  and  then  a  flock, 
belated  in  its  spring  migration,  lingers  through  the 


232  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

summer.  It  was  long  since  noted  by  Audubon,  that  a 
Snow-bird's  nest  was  found  in  the  White  Mountains 
in  July,  1831.  Another  case,  equally  rare  and  even 
more  exceptional,  considering  the  locality,  is  recorded 
by  Allen  —  that  of  a  pair  which  bred  in  Springfield, 
Mass.,  in  the  summer  of  1862  (Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  iv, 
1864,  p.  70).  According  to  Mr.  Maynard,  there  is 
an  authentic  instance  of  the  presence  of  a  flock  on 
Mt.  Katahdin,  in  Maine,  early  in  August,  1869.  The 
following  description  of  the  nest  and  eggs  is  given  by 
Coues  (Birds  Northwest,  1874,  p.  ZI9)  :  "The  few 
nests  of  the  Snow-flake  I  have  seen  were  built  with  a 
great  quantity  of  a  kind  of  short  curly  grass  which 
grows  in  the  Arctic  regions,  mixed  with  moss,  the 
whole  forming  a  very  substantial  structure,  with  walls 
an  inch  or  more  thick,  and  a  small,  deep  cavity.  This 
is  warmly  lined  with  a  quantity  of  large  feathers,  from 
some  water-fowl.  They  are  built  on  the  ground,  often 
covered  and  hidden  by  tussocks  of  grass  or  even  slabs 
of  rock.  The  eggs  are  exceedingly  variable  in  col- 
oration as  well  as  size.  Thus,  one  measures  0.95  by 
0.70,  and  another  0.97  by  0.62  ;  an  average  is  about 
0.90  by  0.65.  The  ground  is  white  or  whitish,  in 
some  instances  flecked  all  over  with  neutral  tint  shell- 
markings,  overlaid  by  deep  brown  spots  and  scratches, 
especially  at  the  butt.  In  other  cases  the  former  are 
wanting  and  we  have  a  heavy  wreath  of  confluent 
blotches  of  dull  brown  around  the  larger  end  ;  and 
again  the  whole  surface  may  be  obscurely  mottled  with 
pale  chocolate."  Those  who  have  seen  the  Snow-flake 
at  home  in  summer  speak  highly  of  its  vocal  ability, 
and  have  also  a  good  word  for  the  fidelity  of  the  bright 
bird  to  its  mate  and  its  young. 


C.   LAPPONICUS  I    LAPLAND    LONGSPUR.  233 

LAPLAND   LONGSPUR. 
CENTROPHANES  LAPPONICUS  (Z.)  Kauf. 

Chars.  "Adult  $  :  Whole  head  and  throat  jet  black  bordered  with 
buffy  or  whitish,  which  forms  a  postocular  line  separating  the 
black  of  the  crown  from  that  of  the  sides  of  the  head;  a  broad 
chestnut  cervical  collar  ;  upper  parts  in  general  blackish,  streaked 
with  buffy  or  whitish  that  edges  all  the  feathers  ;  below,  whitish, 
the  breast  and  sides  black-streaked ;  wings  dusky,  the  greater 
coverts  and  inner  secondaries  edged  with  dull  bay ;  tail  dusky, 
with  oblique  white  areas  on  the  outer  feathers  ;  bill  yellowish, 
tipped  with  black  ;  legs  and  feet  black.  Length,  6.00-6.50;  wing, 
3.25-3.50  ;  tail,  2.50-2.75.  Winter  males  show  less  black  on  the 
head,  and  the  cervical  chestnut  is  duller;  the  9  and  young 
have  no  continuous  black  on  the  head,  and  the  crown  is  streaked 
like  the  back  ;  but  there  are  traces  of  the  cervical  collar,  whilst 
the  generic  characters  will  prevent  confusion  with  any  of  the 
ordinary  streaked  Sparrows."  —  (Coues.) 

This  is  a  circumpolar  species,  like  the  Snow-flake, 
occurring  in  New  England  under  precisely  the  same 
conditions  that  determine  the  presence  of  the  latter. 
The  two  species  have  similar  habits,  and  are  usually 
found  together ;  but  in  most  places  the  Lapland  Long- 
spur  is  so  much  rarer  than  the  Snow  Bunting  as  to  be 
considered  quite  a  prize  by  the  fortunate  collector  to 
secure  it.  It  is,  however,  common  enough  on  the 
Massachusetts  coast  in  winter,  especially  among  the 
Ipswich  sand-hills. 

In  its  Arctic  summer  home,  the  Longspur  builds 
under  a  tussock  of  grass  a  thick  nest  of  mosses  and 
fine  grasses,  warmly  lined  with  feathers,  in  which 
four  to  six  eggs  are  deposited.  These  measure  about 
0.80x0.62  in  size,  and  are  quite  dark-colored,  like 
a  Titlark's. 


234  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

CHESTNUT-COLLARED  LONGSPUR. 
CENTROPHANES   ORNATUS   (Towns.)   Cab. 

Chars.  "Adult  $:  A  chestnut  cervical  collar,  as  in  lapponicus^  and 
upper  parts  streaked  much  as  in  that  species,  but  grayer  ;  nearly 
all  the  under  parts  continuously  black,  the  throat  yellowish  ;  lower 
belly  and  crissum  only  whitish  ;  in  high  plumage  the  black  of 
the  under  parts  is  more  or  less  mixed  with  intense  ferrugineous, 
and  sometimes  this  rich  sienna  color  becomes  continuous  ;  crown 
and  sides  of  head  black,  interrupted  with  white  auricular  and 
postocular  stripes,  and  in  high  plumage  with  a  white  occipital 
spot;  lesser  wing-coverts  black,  or  brownish-black;  outer  tail- 
feathers  mostly  or  entirely  white,  and  all  the  rest  largely  white 
from  the  base  —  a  character  that  distinguishes  the  species  in  any. 
plumage  from  the  preceding  ;  legs  not  black.  9  :  With  or  with- 
out traces  of  the  cervical  collar ;  crown  exactly  like  the  back ; 
generally  no  black  on  head  or  under  parts  ;  below,  whitish,  with 
slight  dusky  maxillary  and  pectoral  streaks,  and  sometimes  the 
whole  breast  black,  edged  with  grayish.  Immature  males  have 
the  lesser  wing-coverts  like  the  back  ;  but  they  show  the  black 
of  the  breast,  veiled  with  gray  tips  of  the  feathers,  long  before  any 
black  appears  on  the  head.  Length,  5.50-6.00;  wing,  3.00-3.30; 
tail,  2.00-2.30."  —  (Coues.} 

A  western  species,  whose  occurrence  in  New  Eng- 
land is  purely  accidental.  Only  one  such  instance  is 
known,  that  of  a  specimen  shot  in  Magnolia,  near 
Gloucester,  Mass.,  July  28,  1876,  by  Mr.  C.  W.  Town- 
send.  (See  Brewer,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  ii,  1877,  p. 
78;  Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xix,  1878,  p.  239;  Allen,  Bull. 
Essex  Inst.,  x,  1878,  p.  16.)  There  is  consequently 
no  occasion  to  enter  upon  the  history  of  this  stran- 
ger, so  unexpectedly  and  unaccountably  borne  to  us 
from  the  boundless  prairies  of  the  Missouri  or  of  the 
Saskatchewan. 


PASSERCUI^US    PRINCEPS  :    IPSWICH    SPARROW.       235 

IPSWICH   SPARROW. 
PASSERCULUS  PRINCEPS  Mayn. 

Chars.  "  Back  greyish  ;  the  middle  of  the  feathers  having  a  black 
centre  edged  with  rufous.  Top  of  head  streaked  with  dusky  and 
pale  rufous,  divided  by  a  broad  stripe  of  pale  yellowish  white. 
There  is  also  a  whitish  superciliary  stripe  extending  from  the  base 
of  the  bill  to  the  back  of  the  head.  Ear-coverts  greyish,  with  a 
rufous  tinge.  Quills  brownish,  edged  with  white  on  the  outer 
web  ;  scapularies,  secondaries,  and  wing-coverts  brownish-black, 
edged  broadly  with  rufous,  brightest  on  the  secondaries  ;  scapu- 
laries also  edged  narrowly  with  white  ;  the  ends  of  both  rows  of 
wing-coverts  narrowly  tipped  with  white,  forming  two  rather  in- 
distinct bars  across  the  wings.  Tail  brownish,  with  the  tips  of 
the  feathers  and  terminal  half  of  outer  web  of  the  outer  tail- 
feathers  pale  yellowish  white;  the  rest  of  the  tail-feathers  narrow- 
ly edged  with  the  same.  Under  parts,  including  the  under  tail- 
coverts,  pure  white.  Feathers  of  the  sides  of  the  throat,  with  a 
broad  band  across  the  breast  and  sides,  streaked  with  rufous, 
with  dusky  centres.  The  throat  is  indistinctly  spotted  with  dusky. 
A  triangular  spot  on  the  sides  of  the  neck,  below  the  ear-coverts, 
pale  buff;  ears  dusky.  Bill  dark  brown,  with  the  base  of  the 
under  mandible  paler.  Eyes  and  feet  brown.  Differs  from  Pace- 
cetes  gramineus,  which  in  general  form  it  resembles,  in  having  a 
central  stripe  on  the  head,  and  a  general  rufous  appearance,  also 
in  having  longer  tarsi,  toes,  and  claws.  With  P  as  serculus  savanna 
it  cannot  justly  be  compared ;  it  is  much  larger,  and  has  a 
shorter  or  more  obtuse  bill.  Ipswich,  Mass.,  December  4,  1868. 
Length,  6.30;  extent,  11.00;  wing,  3.25;  tail,  2.60;  bill,  about 
0.45  ;  tarsus,  0.95  ;  middle  toe,  0.80 ;  hind  claw,  0.40."  — (May- 
nard.} 

This  Sparrow,  at  first  supposed  to  be  Centronyx 
bairdi,  was  discovered  by  Mr.  Maynard  on  the  sand- 
hills of  Ipswich,  Mass.,  which  in  places  are  covered 
with  coarse  grass,  and  include  depressions  which,  ex- 
cept in  summer,  contain  water  and  fresh  grass ;  in  one 


236  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

of  these  places  the  first  specimen  was  shot  and  another 
seen.  Mr.  Maynard  has  since  obtained  several  more. 
Two  other  specimens  measure  :  wing,  2.90  ;  tail,  2.40  ; 
culmen,  0.50;  tarsus,  0.85;  middle  toe,  0.65;  hind 
claw,  0.30;  and  wing,  3.00  ;  tail,  2.30  ;  culmen,  0.50; 
tarsus,  0.85;  middle  toe,  0.60;  claw,  0.30.  Many 
additional  specimens  have  since  come  to  light,  mostly 
in  New  England,  where  the  species  appears  to  be  a 
regular  migrant  and  winter  visitant,  especially  along 
the  coast,  and  by  no  means  so  rare  a  bird  as  it  was 
at  first  supposed  to  be. 

Of  the  bird  in  New  York,  Mr.  H.  A.  Bailey* 
writes,  'that  Mr.  Frank  E.  Johnson,  of  Gravesend, 
Long  Island,  while  collecting,  December  2Oth,  1876, 
on  Coney  Island,  shot  three  specimens  of  a  Sparrow 
new  to  him,  which  were  shown  to  Mr.  George  N. 
Lawrence  and  pronounced  to  be  P.  -princeps?  They 
were  shot  on  the  salt  meadows  of  the  island,  in 
company  with  P.  savanna  and  Melospiza  -palustris. 
Mr.  N.  T.  Lawrence  f  writes  f  that  he  took  a  fine  spec- 
imen at  Rockaway,  L.  I.,  January  ist,  1878;  it  was 
in  company  with  P.  savanna  and  Spizclla  monticola. 
It  was  found  among  a  low  range  of  sand  hills,  and 
was  very  wild.'  In  the  extreme  north,  Mr.  William 
Brewster  \  tells  us  that  '  while  collecting  at  Point  Des- 
preaux,  New  Brunswick,  a  female  was  secured ; '  he 
mentions  a  specimen  taken  by  Mr.  Willey,  of  Portland, 
at  Cape  Elizabeth,  Me.,  March  15,  1875.  Mr-  N-  C- 
Brown  §  is  confident  that  he  found  this  species,  Octo- 

*  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  vol.  ii,  July,  1877,  p.  78. 
f  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  vol.  iii,  April,  1878,  p.  102. 
J  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  vol.  i,  July,  1876,  p.  52. 
§  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  vol.  ii,  January,  1877,  p.  27. 


PASSERCULUS    PRINCEPS  :    IPSWICH    SPARROW.       237 

ber  9,  1876,  on  the  northwest  shore  of  Lake  Umba- 
gog.  Mr.  C.  H.  Merriam*  secured  a  fine  specimen, 
on  November  4,  1875,  while  collecting  along  the  beach 
a  few  miles  below  New  Haven,  Ct.  ;  another  was  seen 
but  not  captured.  Mr.  W.  A.  Jeffries, f  recording  from 
Massachusetts,  says  :  '  On  January  23,  1875,- while  col~ 
lecting  in  Swampscott,  Mass.,  I  shot  a  female,  in  com- 
pany with  a  few  Snow  Buntings.  I  did  not  again 
meet  with  it  till  October  26,  1878,  when,  by  chance, 
it  was  noticed  in  the  same  locality  in  good  numbers. 
My  brother  and  myself  shot  eleven  before  December 
1st,  and  one  again  on  January  25,  1879.  During 
November  we  searched  for  them  carefully  several 
times,  and,  with  one  exception,  always  shot  one  or 
more  specimens.  Probably  as  many  rose  out  of  range. 
From  what  I  have  seen  or  heard  of  this  bird  in  this  part 
of  Massachusetts,  I  should  give  it  as  a  late  fall  migrant, 
a  few  spending  the  winter  here.'  Through  him  we 
learn  that  it  '  was  generally  very  tame  ;  hard  to  flush, 
running  along  the  ground  and  crouching  till  within  a 
few  feet  of  the  person  pursuing.  The  later  comers 
very  shy,  rising  wildly.  When  discovered  they  gave 
no  note  or  chirp  of  alarm.'  He  also  says  that  'the 
thinly  scattered  beach  grass  at  the  edge  of  some  fresh- 
water pond  seemed  to  be  their  favorite  feeding  ground.' 
After  carefully  comparing  the  species  with  P.  savana 
Mr.  Jeffries  concludes:  f  Finally,  I  believe  that  -prm- 
ceps  ought  not  to  be  retained  as  a  specific  name, 
as  it  does  not  cover  greater  variations  than  may  be 
easily  accounted  for  by  well-known  laws  of  climatic 
variation.'  It  will  be  safe,  however,  to  recognize  the 

*  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  vol.  i,  July,  1876,  p.  52. 
t  Bull.  Nuttall  Club,  vol.  iv,  April,  1879,  p.  103. 


238  FRINGILLIDyE  :    FINCHES. 

specific  validity  of  princeps,  until  specimens  occur 
which  cannot  be  distinguished  from  savana,\_*~\  for 
thus  far  no  such  doubtful  examples  have  been  forth- 
coming. 


SAVANNA  SPARROW. 
PASSERCULUS  SAVANA  (  Wils.)  Bp. 

Chars.  Thickly  streaked  everywhere  above,  on  sides  below,  and 
across  breast ;  line  over  eye,  and  the  edge  of  the  wing,  yellow- 
ish ;  no  chestnut  on  bend  of  wing ;  bill  rather  slight  and  acute  ; 
tail  nearly  even,  without  white  lateral  feathers  ;  inner  secondaries 
long  and  flowing,  the  longest  of  them  nearly  reaching  to  the  end 
of  the  wing  when  closed.  The  upper  parts  are  brownish-gray, 
variegated  with  blackish,  grayish-white,  and  pale  bay,  the  streaks 
largest  on  the  iriterscapulars,  smallest  on  the  hind-neck.  An 
obscure  median  pale  line  divides  the  crown,  and  there  is  often 
much  yellowish  suffusion  about  the  head,  besides  the  line  over 
the  eye.  Under  parts  white,  either  pure  or,  in  autumnal  and 
juvenile  specimens,  tinged  with  buffy,  the  breast  and  sides  thick- 
ly streaked  with  dusky  — these  markings  being  brown,  dark-cen- 
tred, mostly  arrow-headed,  linked  in  chains  along  the  sides,  some- 
times aggregated  in  an  obscure  blotch  on  the  breast.  Wings 
plain  dusky,  the  coverts  and  inner  secondaries  edged  with  black 
and  tipped  with  bright  bay  ;  tail-feathers  rather  narrow  and  point- 
ed, not  conspicuously  colored  in  any  way.  Bill  dark  above,  pale 
below ;  feet  delicate  flesh-color.  Length,  5.25-5.75  ;  extent,  about 
8.50 ;  wing,  2.50-2.75  ;  tail,  2.00-2.25  >  tarsus,  middle  toe,  and 
claw,  together,  1.50;  bill,  under  0.50. 

The  Savanna  is  one  of  the  most  numerous  of  the 
New  England  Sparrows ;  it  is  found  nearly  all  the 
year,  being  only  absent  during  the  three  winter  months, 
and  perhaps  in  March.  It  abounds  along  the  coast, 

*  [In  some  respects  this  bird  is  related  to  P.  restrains  of  the  Pa- 
cific coast,  and  seems  to  take  in  New  England  mucli  the  same  part 
that  the  latter  does  in  California.  —  C.J 


PASSERCULUS    SAVANA  :    SAVANNA    SPARROW.       239 

its  favorite  haunts  being  the  salt  marshes  bordering  the 
sea-shore,  but  may  be  found  in  large  numbers  in  any 
open  ground  throughout  the  interior.  I  should  not  be 
surprised  to  learn  that  it  occasionally  winters  in  shel- 
tered places  in  the  Connecticut  valley  ;  but  am  not 
aware  that  such  is  actually  the  case.  The  bird  usu- 
ally makes  its  appearance  early  in  April,  and  soon  be- 
comes generally  distributed.  Many  pass  on  to  more 
northerly  breeding  grounds,  but  many  nestle  with  us  ; 
during  the  fall  migrations  in  October,  individuals  are 
again  to  be  seen  in  profusion,  and  the  loiterers  are  not 
all  gone  till  late  in  November.  It  is  a  thoroughly  ter- 
restrial bird,  being  one  of  those  that  best  deserves  the 
name  of  "Ground  Sparrow,"  so  indiscriminately  ap- 
plied to  several  distinct  species  in  the  vernacular  of 
rural  Yankees.  It  seldom  alights,  even  for  a  moment, 
anywhere  excepting  upon  the  ground,  where  it  runs 
swiftly  with  pretty  steps,  threading  its  way  like  a  mouse 
through  the  grass.  Always  solicitous  of  concealment, 
it  takes  but  short  wayward  flights  when  forced  to 
rise  on  wing,  soon  dropping  again  into  the  favoring 
shelter  of  the  herbage.  A  rather  weak  and  drawling 
song  is  heard  during  the  mating  season  ;  but  this  is 
not  at  all  a  vocal  bird,  and  has  at  most  times  only  a 
slight  chirping  note.  The  nest,  as  might  be  supposed, 
is  placed  on  the  ground  —  rather,  in  the  ground,  as  it 
is  sunken  till  the  brim  comes  flush  with  the  surface  ;  it 
is  a  slight  affair,  of  a  few  grass-stems,  just  to  keep 
the  eggs  from  the  earth,  and  distinguishable  in  no  way 
from  those  of  several  other  ground-nesters.  When 
caught  in  the  act  of  incubation,  the  parent  often  flut- 
ters and  tumbles  along  in  the  endeavor  to  attract  atten- 
tion to  herself,  and  thus  decoy  the  intruder  away  from 


240  FRINGILLID^S  :    FINCHES. 

her  treasures.  The  eggs  are  difficult  to  describe, 
being  so  motley  in  coloration,  and  so  variable  also  in  the 
extent  and  intensity  of  the  markings.  The  ground- 
color, when  not  entirely  obscured  by  confluent  mark- 
ings, is  seen  to  be  pale  dull  greenish,  or  some  inde- 
finable whitey-brown  color.  Some  specimens  are  very 
heavily  and  uniformly  overlaid  with  chocolate-brown 
blotches,  mostly  large  and  confluent;  others  are  less 
closely  clouded,  having  the  blotches  chiefly  at  the 
great  end,  and  only  dots  elsewhere.  The  eggs  most 
nearly  resemble  those  of  the  Grass  Finch,  but  are 
somewhat  smaller,  and  usually  darker  —  in  fact,  the 
Savanna's  eggs  are  about  the  most  heavily-colored  of 
any  Sparrow's,  sometimes  almost  like  a  Titlark's  in 
intensity  and  uniformity  of  the  chocolate  shade.  They 
are  four  or  five  in  number,  about  0.70X0.50  in  size; 
they  are  laid  late  in  May,  and  again  in  July. 


BAY-WINGED  BUNTING;   GRASS  FINCH. 

POCECETES    GRAMINEUS    (Gm.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Above,  thickly  streaked  everywhere  ;  the  same  on  the  sides 
below  and  across  the  breast.  No  yellow  anywhere  ;  lesser  wing- 
coverts  chestnut ;  two  or  three  outer  tail-feathers  partly  or  wholly 
white.  Above,  gray,  the  feathers  dusky-centred  and  pale-edged  ; 
below,  white,  usually  with  a  buffy  tinge,  very  thickly  streaked 
with  dusky  brown  across  the  breast  and  along  the  sides.  Crown 
like  the  back,  without  evident  median  light  stripe,  but  a  whitish 
supraciliary  line  and  eye-ring.  More  or  less  bright  bay  on  the 
wings.  Bill  dark  above,  pale  below  ;  feet  pale.  A  large,  stout, 
full-chested  Sparrow,  easily  recognized  by  the  chestnut  on  the 
bend  of  the  wing,  and  the  white  feathers  that  show  when  the 
tail  is  flirted  in  flight.  Length,  5.75-6.25 ;  extent,  10.50 ;  wing, 
2.90-3.25 ;  tail,  2.25-2.75. 


POCECETES    GRAMINEUS  :    BAY-WINGED    BUNTING.       24! 

This  is  another  of  the  abundant  New  England  Spar- 
rows which,  from  the  circumstance  of  its  nesting  on 
the  ground,  is  called  "  Ground  Sparrow,"  and  con- 
fused with  several  related  species.  But  it  is  one  of 
the  most  strongly-marked  of  all  the  plain-colored 
streaked  Sparrows,  and  cannot  be  mistaken  by  any 
one  possessing  the  slightest  faculty  of  discrimination. 
It  is  not  nearly  so  terrestrial  a  bird  as  the  Savanna 
Sparrow,  often  flying  among  the  bushes,  and  even 
mounting  sizeable  trees  by  the  wayside,  along  the 
hedges,  and  in  fields,  sometimes  in  companies  of  a 
dozen  or  more  individuals.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  song- 
sters among  the  Sparrows,  having  a  sweet  and  sym- 
pathetic voice,  which  it  delights  to  exercise,  particu- 
larly in  the  evening  —  a  habit  so  confirmed  as  to  have 
gained  for  the  Finch  the  pretty  name  of  "Vesper-bird," 
bestowed  by  one  of  its  most  appreciative  friends. 

The  birds  come  in  troops  to  New  England  early  in 
April,  about  the  time  that  the  Savannas  make  their 
appearance,  and  linger  equally  late  in  the  fall ;  being 
prominent  during  the  latter  season  among  the  hordes 
of  Sparrows  that  throng  the  bush  and  brake.  In  the 
breeding  season  it  is  pretty  equably  distributed  through 
the  meadows,  pastures,  and  waste  fields  of  New  Eng- 
land, and  is  less  noticeable  than  during  the  migrations, 
for  two  reasons  :  it  keeps  pretty  closely  concealed  in 
the  grass,  and  it  is  not  flocking.  The  nest  is  sunken  in 
the  ground  to  the  level  of  the  surface,  or  artfully  con- 
cealed in  a  tuft  of  grass,  being  not  easy  to  discover 
except  by  accident.  The  female  does  not  desert  her 
charge  until  almost  trodden  upon,  when  she  will  flutter 
off  feigning  lameness,  seeking  by  such  pious  fraud  to 
save  her  home,  even  at  the  risk  of  life.  The  eggs 
16 


242  FRINGILI.IDyE  :    FINCHES. 

are  as  difficult  to  describe  intelligibly  as  those  of  the 
Savanna,  and  some  samples  are  scarcely  distinguish- 
able, except  by  larger  size,  averaging  0.80  by  0.60. 
However,  they  are  generally  much  lighter-colored, 
having  a  dull  grayish-white  ground,  more  or  less 
clouded  with  chocolate  brown,  but  are  also  usually 
scrawled  with  irregular  umber-brown  markings.  The 
difference  in  general  effect  is  very  decided  when,  as  I 
do  in  writing  this,  fifty  or  more  Grass  Finch  eggs  are 
compared  with  an  equal  number  of  those  of  the  Sa- 
vanna Sparrow  ;  but  it  is  not  easy  to  convey  the  differ- 
ence in  a  few  words.  Two  broods  are  generally  reared 
each  season,  and  a  third  may  even  be  brought  to  life  ; 
for  the  Bay-wing  is  prompt  about  it  in  the  spring,  lay- 
ing sometimes  by  the  first  of  May,  and  thus  before  the 
other  Sparrows.  The  species  is,  upon  the  whole,  the 
most  abundant  of  our  field-birds. 


YELLOW-WINGED   SPARROW. 

COTURNICULUS    PASSERINUS   (Wlls.} 


Chars.  Above,  curiously  variegated  with  black,  gray,  buff,  and  pur- 
plish-brown, disposed  in  short  streaks  and  fine  speckling,  the 
crown  being  nearly  black  with  a  sharp  median  buff  line,  the  inter- 
scapulars  chiefly  black  with  bay  and  buff  edgings  of  the  feathers, 
the  hind  neck  and  rump  chiefly  gray  mixed  with  bay  ;  wing- 
coverts  and  inner  secondaries  variegated  like  the  back.  Lower 
parts  entirely  unstreaked,  of  a  rich  buff  color,  fading  to  whitish 
on  the  belly.  Edge  of  wing  conspicuously  yellow  ;  lesser  wing- 
coverts,  and  short  line  over  eye,  yellowish.  Bill  dark  above,  pale 
below  ;  feet  flesh-color.  Young  birds  are  streaked  below,  but  the 
small  size  and  peculiar  proportions  of  parts  will  serve  to  identify 
the  species.  Length,  4.90-5.20;  wing,  2.33,  rounded;  tail,  scarce- 
ly 2.00,  with  very  narrow  pointed  feathers,  so  short  that  the  out- 
stretched feet  reach  beyond  it  ;  bill  and  feet  remarkably  stout. 


C.   PASSERINUS  :    YELLOW-WINGED    SPARROW.       243 

Though  this  queer  little  Sparrow  is  neither  one  of 
the  commonest  nor  of  the  most  widely  distributed  species 
in  New  England,  yet  its  rarity  has  been  exaggerated 
by  some  writers,  doubtless  upon  the  insufficient  infor- 
mation likely  to  be  acquired  in  the  case  of  so  sly  and 
secretive  a  bird.  We  should  note,  in  the  first  place, 
that  it  is  practically  restricted  to  the  Carolinian  and 
Alleghanian  Faunae,  being  thus  wanting  in  most  parts 
of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Vermont.  Next,  if 
we  remember  that  it  keeps  most  sedulously  concealed 
in  rank  herbage,  rarely  rising  higher  in  the  world  than 
the  top  of  a  mullein,  we  should  be  at  no  loss  to  account 
for  the  obscurity  that  hangs  over  the  history  of  this 
curious  species.  It  has  not  even  a  song  to  attract  at- 
tention, its  best  vocalization  being  scarcely  stronger  or 
more  musical  than  the  stridulation  of  a  grasshopper. 
But  if  we  tramp  through  weedy  fields,  especially  in 
sandy  sterile  soil,  we  shall  often  startle  the  little  creat- 
ure from  its  persistent  hiding,  see  it  dart  a  few  yards 
away  with  a  wayward  flight,  and  disappear  from  view 
as  suddenly  as  it  came  in  sight.  Early  in  June,  when 
the  female  is  incubating,  the  males  seem  more  ambi- 
tious than  at  other  times,  and  often  mount  a  weed, 
shrub,  or  fence-post  to  make  their  queer  music  —  one 
of  the  sounds  that  an  ornithologist  learns  to  recognize 
without  difficulty,  though  the  casual  ear  might  not  sep- 
arate it  from  the  nameless  noises  that  show  how  the 
field  teems  with  life  at  this  season.  In  such  waste 
places  as  I  have  noted,  the  nest  maybe  found  by  acci- 
dent, sunken  in  the  ground,  overhung  with  a  tuft  of 
grass,  and  thus  very  closely  concealed.  The  eggs,  to 
the  number  of  four  or  five,  are  very  recognizable  among 
those  of  other  "Ground  Sparrows,"  more  resembling 


244  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

Warbler  eggs  in  their  general  style.  They  are  of  crys- 
talline whiteness,  flecked  with  various  shades  of  red- 
dish-brown —  sometimes  pretty  uniformly  so  marked, 
sometimes  the  markings  being  larger  and  darker 
brown  blotches,  crowning  the  greater  end.  The  eggs 
are  decidedly  rounder,  or  more  nearly  spherical  than 
those  of  most  Sparrows,  measuring  scarcely  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  in  length  by  nearly  two-thirds  in 
breadth. 

The  Yellow-winged  Sparrow  is  a  rather  late  arrival, 
not  coming  until  May,  and  apparently  leaving  in  Sep- 
tember. It  is  fairly  to  be  called  abundant  in  Connec- 
ticut ;  and  in  Massachusetts,  Allen  says,  it  is  a  "  com- 
mon and  even  abundant  summer  resident  at  favorable 
localities,  especially  in  the  Connecticut  valley  and 
near  the  sea-coast."  As  the  bird  has  been  the  subject 
of  some  controversy  between  Dr.  Brewer  and  other 
people,  I  present  the  following  late  records,  which  are 
self-explanatory:  —  Putnam,  Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  i,  1856, 
p.  210;  Essex  Co.,  Mass.;  common  summer  visitant. 
Boardman,  Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  ix,  1862,  p.  126;  Calais, 
Me.  ;  rare  summer  visitant.  Allen,  Pr.  Essex  Inst., 
iv,  1864,  p.  71  ;  Springfield,  Mass.  ;  abundant  sum- 
mer visitant.  Coues,  Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  v,  1868,  p.  282  ; 
New  England,  in  summer,  abundant,  becoming  less  so 
northward.  Mdynard,  Nat.  Guide,  1870,  p.  117;  east- 
ern Mass.,  common,  breeding  regularly.  Brewer, 
Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xvii,  1875,  P-  441  »  rare  ^n  southern 
New  England  !  Purdie,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  i,  1876,  p. 
73  ;  breeding  numerously  in  southern  New  England. 
Brewer,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  i,  1876,  p.  92;  controver- 
sial ;  maintains  his  ground.  Purdie,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club, 
ii,  1877,  p.  17;  confirms  his  above  observations,  and 


C.    HENSLOWI  :    HENSLOW'S    SPARROW.  245 

gives  those  of  others.  Brewer,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  ii, 
1877,  p.  47  ;  explanatory.  Merriam,  Tr.  Conn.  AcacL, 
iv,  1877,  p.  37;  Connecticut;  common  summer  resi- 
dent. Minot,  B.  N.  E.,  1877,  P-  J92  5  Mass.;  com- 
mon in  some  places,  rare  in  others.  Allen,  Bull.  Es- 
sex Inst.,  x,  1878,  p.  16 ;  Massachusetts;  common, 
and  even  abundant  in  some  localities. 


HENSLOW'S   YELLOW-WINGED   SPARROW. 
COTURNICULUS  HENSLOWI  (Aud.)  Bp. 

Chars.  Resembling  C.  passerinus  ;  rather  smaller,  but  tail  longer, 
reaching  beyond  the  outstretched  feet,  with  extremely  narrow  and 
acute  feathers  ;  bill  very  stout,  under  parts  with  sharp  black  max- 
illary, pectoral  and  lateral  streaks,  wanting  in  adult  C.  passerinus. 

The  position  taken  by  Dr.  Brewer  with  respect  to 
the  rarity  of  the  Yellow-winged  Sparrow  might  have 
been  held  had  he  based  his  remarks  upon  the  present 
bird  instead  ;  Henslow's  Sparrow  being,  for  aught  we 
know  to  the  contrary,  a  decidedly  uncommon  bird  in 
New  England.  Its  habits,  however,  being  in  all  re- 
spects the  same  as  those  of  its  congener,  and  its  ap- 
pearance in  life  very  similar,  it  would  not  be  surprising 
if  the  rarity  were  somewhat  exaggerated  in  this  case 
also.  We  have  as  yet  only  an  incompleted  record,  the 
bird  not  having  been  seen  in  many  localities  where  it 
doubtless  occurs.  The  times  of  its  arrival  and  depart- 
ure in  all  probability  agree  with  those  of  the  Yellow- 
winged  Sparrow.  The  bird  has  been  observed  in 
Massachusetts  more  frequently  than  elsewhere,  and  is 
said  to  be  more  numerous  in  some  places  in  that  State 


246  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

than  its  near  relative.  In  Connecticut,  Mr.  Merriam 
states  that  it  is  a  rare  summer  resident  —  a  statement 
well  attested  by  the  fact  that  he  was  only  able  to  in- 
clude the  species  in  his  paper  on  the  strength  of  a 
specimen  received  just  in  time  from  Dr.  F.  W.  Hall, 
who  shot  it  in  worn  breeding  plumage,  at  Killing- 
worth,  Middlesex  Co.,  July  i8th,  1873  (Rev.  B.  Conn., 

1877,  p.  37).     The  Massachusetts  record  is  more  ex- 
tensive than  that  relating  to  any  other  State  {Allen, 
Pr.    Essex    Inst,    iv,    1864,    p.    71  ;    Samuels,    Rep. 
Sec'y  Mass.  Board  Agric.,  1863,   appendix,  p.  xxiv ; 
Allen,  Am.   Nat.,   iii,   1869,  p.  632;  Maynard,  Nat. 
Guide,  1870,  p.  117  ;     Brewster,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iii, 

1878,  p.   118;  Allen,  Bull.  Essex  Inst.,  x,   1878,  p. 
118).     Mr.  Deane  has  recently  published  an  interest- 
ing notice  of  the  breeding  of  the  species  in  New  Hamp- 
shire (Bull.   Nutt.  Club,  iii,  1878,   p.  39).     The   bird 
had  not  been   reported  north   of  Massachusetts   when 
Mr.  C,   F.  Goodhue,  of  Webster,  N.  H.,  placed  his 
observations  at  Mr.   Deane's  disposal.     He  found  the 
bird  in  Webster,  April  i7th,  1864,  and  in  Boscawen, 
April  26th,  1875.     ^)n  the  i6th  of  August,  1877,  sev- 
eral pairs  were  observed   in   a   meadow  in  Salisbury, 
where  they  were  breeding,  and  a  nest  containing  five 
nearly  fledged  young  was  discovered  in   a  bunch  of 
grass  growing  in  about  two  inches  of  water ;  it  was  a 
rather  bulky  structure  of  coarse  grasses,  with  a  lining 
of  finer  ones.     The   birds  did  not  seem  alarmed,  but 
remained  singing  in   some  low  bushes  when  the  ob- 
server approached  them  within  a  few  yards.     An  in- 
stance of  how  common  such  birds  as  these  may  really 
be  in  comparison  with  their  apparent  rarity,  is  given 
by  Mr.  Ridgway  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  1879,  P- 


A.    CAUDACUTUS  :    SHARP-TAILED    SPARROW.       247 

from  observations  made  near  Washington,  D.  C. 
Henslovv's  Buntings  had  scarcely  been  known  in  that 
vicinity,  where,  however,  this  observer  found  them  to 
be  very  common  and  generally  distributed,  hearing 
them  singing  in  July  in  every  weedy  meadow  through 
which  he  passed.  Eggs  taken  by  Mr.  Jouy,  near 
Washington,  resemble  those  of  the  Yellow-winged 
Sparrow,  but  are  not  purely  white  in  ground-color, 
having  a  faint  though  evident  greenish  tinge.  The 
nest  containing  them  was  built  on  the  ground,  in  a  tuft 
of  clover,  and  was  neatly  constructed,  for  a  ground- 
nest,  having  a  well-turned  brim,  and  being  coherent 
enough  to  remove  without  difficulty.  It  contained  four 
fresh  eggs  in  June,  measuring  0.75  X  0.60,  0.75  X  0.58, 
0.75x0.56,  0.76x0.60. 


SHARP-TAILED  SPARROW. 
AMMODRAMUS  CAUDACUTUS  (Gm.)  Sw. 

Chars.  Above,  olive-gray,  sharply  streaked  on  the  back  with  black- 
ish and  whitish ;  crown  darker  than  nape,  with  dusky  streaks  and 
an  obscure  median  line  of  paler  color  ;  no  decided  yellow  spot  on 
the  lore,  but  long  supraciliary  line  and  sides  of  head  rich  buff  or 
orange-brown,  enclosing  dusky  auriculars  and  a  dark  speck  be- 
hind these  ;  under  parts  whitish,  before  and  along  the  sides 
tinged  with  buff  of  variable  intensity,  continuous  with  that  on  the 
sides  of  the  head,  the  breast  and  sides  sharply  streaked  with  black- 
ish. Edge  of  the  wings  yellow.  Bill  dark,  extremely  slender 
and  acute  (for  a  Finch's);  feet  livid  bluish.  Length,  5.25-5.50; 
wing,  2-25  ;  tail,  about  2.00,  with  narrowly  lanceolate-acute  feath- 
ers ;  bill,  0.50  ;  tarsus,  0.80. 

The  Sharp-tailed  is  the  more  abundant  of  the  two 
New  England  species  of  Amrnodramus,  and  extends 


248  FRINGILLID^E  I    FINCHES. 

farther  north  than  A.  maritimus  is  known  to  do,  oc- 
curring along  the  entire  coast.  It  is  therefore  wrongly 
given  by  Dr.  Brewer  as  confined  to  southern  New 
England  —  a  mistake  corrected  in  the  first  of  his  two 
supplementary  lists.  It  is  decidedly  more  northern  in 
its  distribution  in  summer,  not  only  proceeding  farther 
along  the  coast,  as  just  said,  but  being  also  unknown 
to  breed  so  far  south  as  the  Sea-side  Sparrow  has  been 


FIG.  56.  — DETAILS  OF  STRUCTURE  OF  SHARP-TAILED  SPARROW. 
(Natural  size.) 

observed  to  do.  Dr.  Coues  reports  such  difference  from 
observations  made  at  Fort  Macon,  North  Carolina, 
where  both  species  occur  abundantly  together  during 
the  migrations,  the  Sharp-tailed  passing  on  however 
in  spring,  and  recurring  in  fall,  while  the  Sea-side  is 
common  during  the  summer.  In  New  England  both 
species  are  practically  confined  to  the  salt  and  brackish 
marshes  of  the  coast  and  its  immediate  vicinity,  and 
are  among  the  least  known  to  people  at  large  of  the 


A.   CAUDACUTUS  :    SHARP-TAILED    SPARROW.       249 

common  New  England  birds  —  not  only  because  their 
distribution  is  very  local,  as  we  have  just  seen,  but  also 
because  their  habits  screen  the  birds  from  casual  obser- 
vation. They  keep  very  closely  in  the  shelter  of  the 
reeds  and  the  rank  salt  herbage,  taking  but  short  and 
seemingly  feeble  flights  when  flushed,  as  is  with  some 
difficulty  done.  Neither  species,  probably,  is  so  rare  as 
some  suppose ;  and  as  each  one,  like  the  Marsh  Wren, 
colonizes  certain  spots  without  settling  others  to  all  ap- 
pearance equally  eligible,  the  actual  numbers  of  the 
birds  can  scarcely  be  surmised.  Thus,  according  to 
Mr.  Merriam,  great  numbers  "of  both  were  found 
along  the  Quinnipiac  River,  in  Connecticut,  so  far  in- 
land that  the  water  was  scarcely  brackish ;  in  some 
spots  maritimus  outnumbered  caudacutus,  but  on  the 
whole  the  reverse  was  the  case.  The  Sharp-tailed 
Finches  reach  New  England  early  in  April,  and  re- 
main until  some  time  in  October.  The  eggs  of  the 
first  set  are  laid  the  last  of  May,  or  early  in  June  ; 
others,  perhaps  of  a  second  batch,  have  been  found  in 
July.  The  nest  is  placed  in  a  tuft  of  grass  or  other 
herbage,  just  out  of  the  way  of  the  water  —  some  in- 
stinct teaching  the  birds  enough  about  tides  to  answer 
their  purpose.  The  eggs  measure  about  0.75  X 0.55, 
and  are  grayish-white,  thickly  and  pretty  evenly  spec- 
kled with  brown ;  they  could  not  be  distinguished  with 
certainty  from  some  samples  of  Savanna  Sparrow's 
eggs,  nor  readily  from  those  of  the  Sea-side  Sparrow. 
This  species  has  occasioned  some  controversy  be- 
tween the  senior  ornithologist  of  New  England  and 
other  persons.  See  Brown,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  ii,  1877, 
p.  27  ;  iii,  1878,  p.  98  ;  iv,  1879,  P-  52  5  Maine.  Brewer, 
ibid.,  iii,  1878,  p.  48,  and  p.  147;  "apologetic";  Pr. 


250  FRINGILLID^:  :    FINCHES. 

Bost.  Soc.,  xix,  1878,  p.  305.  Brewster,  Bull.  Nutt. 
Club,  ii,  1877,  P-  28;  Prince  Edward's  Island.  From 
these  and  other  records  the  following  items  are  de- 
rived. 

Mr.  N.  C.  Brown,  of  Portland,  Me.,  writing  Nov. 
i2th,  1876,  says  :  "  I  have  found  this  species,  now,  I 
believe,  for  the  first  time  recorded  as  a  bird  of  Maine, 
a  rare  inhabitant  of  a  certain  part  of  the  great  marsh 
in  Scarborough."  Mr.  Wm.  Brewster,  in  speaking  of 
the  northern  range  of  this  bird,  says,  that  Mr.  Wm. 
Storer,  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  shot  five  specimens  at 
Tiquish,  Prince  Edward's  Island,  August  2d  and  3d, 
1876.  From  the  record  it  appears  that  others  were  ob- 
served, and  Mr.  Brewster  properly  remarks  that  the 
finding  of  these  and  Mr.  Brown's  specimen  "render  it 
extremely  probable  that  it  may  occur  regularly,  at 
suitable  localities,  all  along  the  intermediate  line  of 
coast."  Dr.  T.  M.  Brewer  says  that  Mr.  George  O. 
Welch,  of  Lynn,  Mass.,  found  this  species  quite  abun- 
dant on  the  shores  of  St.  Andrew's  Bay,  lying  be- 
tween the  eastern  boundary  of  Maine  and  New  Bruns- 
wick, the  farthest  eastern  record  up  to  that  time.  Mr. 
N.  C.  Brown,  who  has  carefully  studied  the  distribu- 
tion of  this  bird  in  Maine,  says :  ff  Late  in  October, 
1876,  I  observed  a  few  individuals  of  this  species  on 
Pine  Point,  a  sandy  strip  of  land  which  forms  the  east- 
ward extremity  of  the  great  Scarboro'  marshes  ;''  also, 
that  this  was  "considerably  eastward  of  their  previously 
known  range  ;"  not  having  detected  it  before  he  care- 
fully watched  the  place,  and  "  not  a  bird  was  to  be 
found  until  about  October  ist.  At  that  date  great  num- 
bers appeared  on  the  marshes  and  sea-beaches  adja- 
cent to  Pine  Point,  and  for  a  couple  of  weeks  they 


AMMODRAMUS    MARITIMUS  I    SEA-SIDE    SPARROW.       251 

fairly  swarmed  in  their  favorite  haunts."  Later  Mr. 
Brown  states  that  half  a  dozen  pairs  remained  during 
the  summer  1879  m  the  marshes  of  Scarborough,  Me., 
and  he  believes  it  to  be  a  regular  summer  resident  of 
that  locality. 


SEA-SIDE  SPARROW. 
AMMODRAMUS  MARITIMUS  (  Wih.)  Sw. 

Chars.  Above,  dark  olive-gray,  obscurely  streaked  on  the  back  and 
crown  with  dusky  and  pale  gray  ;  below,  dull  white,  washed  with 
the  color  of  the  back  along  the  sides,  and  often  tinged  with 
brownish  elsewhere,  the  breast  and  sides  with  obscure  dusky 
streaks  ;  some  vague  dark  markings  on  the  side  of  the  head. 
Lore  and  edge  of  wing  yellow,  in  decided  contrast  to  the  rest  of 
the  dull  dark  colors.  Wings  and  tail  plain  dusky,  with  slight 
olivaceous  edgings  of  the  feathers,  the  wing-coverts  and  seconda- 
ries also  somewhat  margined  with  brown.  Bill  plumbeous  ;  feet 
dark.  Rather  larger  than  A.  caudacutus :  length,  5.75-6.25; 
wing,  2.25-2.50 ;  tail,  2.00  ;  bill,  0.55  ;  tarsus,  0.90. 

There  has  long  been  some  uncertainty  respecting  the 
presence  of  this  bird  in  New  England,  perhaps  largely 
due  to  the  statement  made  by  Coues  in  1868,  that  he 
found  it  abundant  "  as  far  north  as  New  Hampshire  " 
(Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  v,  1868,  p.  282),  where  others  have 
since  failed  to  find  it  at  all.  Dr.  Coues  himself  informs 
me  that  this  record  arose  in  a  slip  of  the  memory  on  his 
part,  the  birds  which  he  found  in  plenty  at  Rye  Beach, 
in  the  fall  of  1860,  having  been  Sharp-tailed  Finches. 
As  already  stated  in  speaking  of  the  last  species,  the 
Sea-side  Sparrow  is  more  southerly,  and  is  not  yet 
known  to  proceed  beyond  the  Massachusetts  coast, 
though  there  is  every  probability  that,  as  a  bird  of 


252  FRINGILLID^E  I    FINCHES. 

the  Alleghanian  as  well  as  of  the  Carolinian  Fauna, 
it  will  hereafter  be  detected  on  the  shores  of  New 
Hampshire,  and  even  of  southern  Maine — thus  actual- 
ly verifying  a  record  which  originated  in  error.  We 
have  already  witnessed  the  Connecticut  status  of  the 
bird,  in  citing  Mr.  Merriam's  remarks  in  the  last 
article ;  and  Mr.  Purdie  has  given  us  other  observa- 
tions in  the  American  Naturalist  (vii,  1873,  p.  118). 
For  Massachusetts,  Dr.  Brewer  has  furnished  authen- 
tic and  perhaps  the  first  definite  information,  in  re- 
cording the  capture  of  a  specimen  by  Mr.  George 
O.  Welch,  at  Nahant,  in  August,  1877  (Bull.  Nutt. 
Club,  Hi,  Jan.,  1878,  p.  48).  Allen  considers  it  "rare 
or  accidental  in  the  salt  marshes  along  the  coast"  of 
that  State,  quoting  Dr.  Brewer's  qase  as  the  only  one 
on  record.  Its  habits  are  practically  identical  with 
those  of  the  Sharp  tailed  Sparrow,  and  neither  the 
nest  nor  the  eggs  can  be  distinguished  with  certainty 
from  those  of  the  latter,  though  there  are  some  slight 
differences,  appreciable  by  a  practised  field-naturalist. 


LINCOLN'S  SPARROW. 
MELOSPIZA  LINCOLNI  (Aud.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Below,  white,  with  a  definite  belt  of  brownish-yellow  across 
the  breast,  a  wash  of  the  same  color  along  the  sides,  the  whole 
under  parts,  excepting  the  belly,  fully  streaked  with  dusky.  Up- 
per parts  like  those  of  a  Song  Sparrow  —  grayish-brown,  the 
crown  and  back  with  dusky,  brown,  and  gray  streaks ;  tail  gray- 
ish-brown, the  feathers  usually  with  dark  longitudinal  shaft-lines  ; 
wings  similar,  without  such  shaft-lines,  the  coverts  and  secon- 
daries blackish,  with  bay  and  whitish  edgings.  No  yellow  any- 
where. Length,  about  5.50  ;  wing  and  tail,  each,  about  2.50. 


MELOSPIZA    LINCOLNI  :    LINCOLN  S    SPARROW.       253 

Lincoln's  Sparrow  must  be  accounted  a  rare  bird  in 
New  England  —  actually  wanting,  perhaps,  in  some 
parts,  in  others  frequently  observed,  but  on  the  whole 
a  bird  which  straggles  into  these  States  in  such  loose 
and  desultory  fashion  that  it  cannot  be  relied  upon. 
It  is  characteristic  of  no  Fauna,  inhabiting  North 
America  at  large ;  but,  beyond  the  fact  of  its  un- 
doubted breeding  in  New  England,  and  its  usual  oc- 
currence during  the  migrations,  little  can  be  said  with 
our  present  information.  It  has  usually  been  consid- 
ered so  rare  and  irregular  a  straggler,  that  the  few  in- 
stances of  its  occurrence  have  been  thought  worth 
recording.  It  has  chiefly  been  seen  in  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut.  Mr.  Merriam's  notice  is  specially 
interesting  :  "  Mr.  Erwin  I.  Shores,  of  Suffield,  Conn., 
writes  me  that  it  is  'not  rare'  in  that  vicinity,  where  he 
took  one  specimen  in  1874,  and  three  more  this  spring 
(1877).  Mr.  Shores  says  that  on  May  23d,  and  again 
on  June  2d,  he  'saw  one  with  small  twigs  in  its  bill,' 
hence,  although  he  did  not  actually  find  the  nest,  there 
can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  of  its  breeding.  He  further 
states  :  '  There  is  a  small  piece  of  woodland  in  this 
place  where  surely  they  cannot  be  considered  rare. 
Have  seen  several  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  shoot. 
They  are  very  shy.  You  just  barely  get  a  glimpse  of 
one  and  have  just  time  to  get  an  idea  of  what  it  is, 
when  down  he  goes  into  the  thick  shrubbery,  and  no 
amount  of  patient  waiting  will  tempt  him  to  come  in 
sight  again.  Provoked,  you  determine  to  kill  every 
one  that  comes  in  sight,  and  after  the  slaughter  of 
half  a  dozen  innocent  Song  or  Swamp  Sparrows,  you 
conclude  that  that  won't  do.  Then,  perhaps,  almost 
the  first  bird  you  leave  will  be  Lincoln's  Sparrow.  I 


254  FRINGILLID/E  !    FINCHES. 

think  they  are  much  more  common  than  generally 
supposed,  but  are  so  shy  and  inhabit  such  bushy  pas- 
tures, that  they  are  hard  to  find"  (Rev.  B.  Conn., 
1877,  p.  38).  A  good  account  of  the  nesting  of  this 
species  has  lately  been  published  by  Mr.  Egbert  Bagg, 
Jr.,  from  observations  made  in  Hamilton  Co.,  N.  Y. 
(Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  ii,  1878,  p.  197)  ;  but  no  New 
England  nests  or  eggs  have  ever  been  found.  The 
eggs  are  not  distinguishable  from  those  of  the  Song 
Sparrow,  though  smaller ;  the  nesting  is  quite  similar. 


SWAMP  SPARROW. 
MELOSPIZA  PALUSTRIS  (  Wils.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Crown  bright  bay  or  chestnut,  blackening  on  the  forehead, 
often  with  an  obscure  median  ashy  line,  and  usually  streaked  with 
black  ;  cervix,  entire  sides  of  head  and  neck,  and  the  breast, 
strongly  ashy,  with  vague  dark  auricular  and  maxillary  markings, 
the  latter  bounding  the  whitish  chin,  the  ashy  of  the  breast  ob- 
soletely  streaky;  belly  whitish  ;  sides,  flanks,  and  crissum  strong- 
ly shaded  with  brown,  and  faintly  streaked ;  back  and  rump, 
brown,  rather  darker  than  the  sides,  boldly  streaked  with  black 
and  pale  brown  or  grayish.  Wings  so  strongly  edged  with  bright 
bay  as  to  appear  almost  uniformly  of  this  color  when  viewed 
closed,  but  inner  secondaries  showing  black  with  whitish  edgings  ; 
tail  likewise  strongly  edged  with  bay,  and  usually  showing  sharp 
black  shaft  lines.  No  yellowish  anywhere  ;  no  tail-feathers  white; 
further  distinguished  from  its  allies  by  the  emphasis  of  its  black, 
bay,  and  ash.  In  the  full-plumaged  male,  the  crown  is  as  con- 
spicuously chestnut  and  black  as  that  of  Spizilla  socialis ;  in  the 
female  it  is  less  brightly  colored.  Length,  5.50-6.00;  wing  and 
tail,  each,  2.30-2.50. 

Were  it  not  for  its  abundance,  this  timid  and  secre- 
tive inhabitant  of  the  thickest  shrubbery  would  be  little 


MELOSPIZA    PALUSTRIS  :    SWAMP    SPARROW.       255 

known,  so  closely  does  it  hug  the  dense  covert  which 
it  instinctively  chooses  as  a  screen  from  the  danger  of 
notoriety.  It  seldom  ventures  so  far  from  its  retreat 
that  a  hurried  flight  of  a  few  seconds  will  not  enable  it 
to  regain  the  thicket,  and  no  oftener  climbs  the  bushes 
to  any  considerable  height  from  the  ground.  More- 
over, such  cover  as  the  bird  prefers  is  that  growing  in 
greatest  profusion  in  swampy  or  other  wet  places,  ac- 
cess to  which  is  doubly  difficult  from  the  treacherous 
yielding  of  the  ground  and  the  sturdy  resistance  of  the 
mantling  vegetation.  If,  however,  we  overcome  such 
obstacles,  and  penetrate  such  recesses,  we  may  be 
pretty  sure  to  see  the  Swamp  Sparrow  in  the  compar- 
atively free  spaces  beneath  the  woven  canopy  of  foli- 
age, fluttering  in  the  shade,  threading  slyly  among 
the  briers,  running  nimbly  over  the  ground,  or  even 
wading  about  in  tiny  pools.  The  nest  will  be  found  in 
a  grassy  tussock  or  low  bush,  such  as  a  Song  Spar- 
row might  select,  and  is  of  much  the  same  construction 
and  general  appearance ;  nor  can  the  eggs  be  distin- 
guished with  any  certainty,  though  perhaps  averaging 
a  trifle  smaller.  It  is,  therefore,  needless  to  give  any 
elaborate  description.  The  bird  is  prompt  in  nesting, 
making  ready  for  the  eggs  by  the  third  week  in  May, 
and  often  producing  another  set  some  six  weeks  later. 
The  modest  little  bird  is  a  good  musician,  as  might  be 
supposed  from  his  kinship  with  the  sympathetic  "  mclo- 
dia?  and  well  deserves  the  compliments  paid  by  Mr. 
Minot  to  the  w  sweet,  clear  trill "  of  spring-time,  and 
warbling  notes  of  the  falling  season.  "  I  remember  to 
have  seen  one  at  evening,"  he  adds,  "in  the  eccentric 
expression  of  his  passion  during  the  season  of  love, 
dart  from  a  thicket,  mount  in  the  air,  and  take  a  rapid, 


256  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

circuitous  flight,  continuously  uttering  a  fine  steady 
trill,  until,  having  returned  to  the  thicket,  he  dived  into 
it,  ejaculating  a  few  broken  musical  notes,  after  which 
all  was  still.''  Common  as  the  Swamp  Sparrow  is  in 
New  England  in  suitable  places  during  the  gestation 
of  the  year,  it  is  still  more  numerous  whilst  migrating, 
and  then  also  more  likely  to  come  under  observation. 
It  reaches  our  country  betimes  in  April,  and  does  not 
depart  until  November ;  having  been  seen  at  times  so 
late  in  the  latter  month  as  to  color  a  suspicion  that 
some  individuals  may  linger  through  the  winter  in 
sheltered  southern  localities,  as  the  Song  Sparrow  is 
well  known  to  do. 


SONG  SPARROW. 
MELOSPIZA  FASCIATA  (Gm.)  Sc. 

Chars.  Thickly  streaked  everywhere  above,  on  the  breast,  and  along 
the  sides  ;  under  parts  otherwise  white,  slightly  shaded  with 
brown  on  the  flanks  and  crissum,  the  streaks  being  dusky  with 
brown  edges,  usually  collecting  to  form  a  blotch  on  the  breast 
and  a  chain  of  maxillary  stripes  on  each  side  of  the  throat.  Crown 
dull  bay,  with  fine  black  streaks,  bordered  and  divided  in  two  by 
ashy  lines  ;  vague  brown  or  dusky  markings  on  the  ashy  sides  of 
the  head.  Middle  of  back  with  the  streaks  black,  edged  with 
ashy  and  bay ;  rump  and  hind-neck  grayish-brown,  with  only  a 
few  bay  marks.  Wing-fea'thers  with  dull  bay  edgings,  the  coverts 
and  inner  secondaries  marked  like  the  middle  of  the  back.  Tail 
plain  grayish-brown,  usually  with  dark  longitudinal  shaft-lines  on 
some  or  most  of  the  feathers,  and  often  with  evident  dark  wavy 
cross-bars  :  whence  the  new-fashioned  name  of  fasciata,  revived 
from  the  early  writers.  No  yellow  or  yellowish  anywhere.  Length, 
6.00-6.50  ;  wing,  about  2.50;  tail,  nearly  or  quite  3.00. 

An  abundant  summer  resident  throughout  New  Eng- 
land, and  one  of  the  best  known  birds  of  that  season. 


MELOSPIZA    FASCIATA  :    SONG    SPARROW.  257 

It  may,  however,  be  not  so  generally  understood  that 
the  Song  Sparrow  resides  all  the  year  round  in  a  large 
part  of  the  country  —  at  least  from  Massachusetts  south- 
ward, and  probably  throughout  the  Alleghanian  Fauna. 
It  is  extremely  abundant  in  early  spring  and  late  fall 
months,  becoming  less  numerous  in  the  depth  of  win- 
ter, which  it  passes  in  the  most  secluded  places,  where 
the  density  of  the  cover  protects  it  from  the  full  rigor 
of  the  blasts.  One  of  the  most  cheerful  and  persever- 
ing of  songsters,  as  it  is,  this  Sparrow  often  tunes  its 
quivering  pipe  to  the  most  dreary  surroundings,  the 
brief  but  hearty  stave  being  one  of  the  few  snatches 
of  bird-melody  ever  woven  with  "  a  winter's  tale  "  in 
Puritanic  stress  of  weather.  I  have  sometimes  fancied 
that  our  extremely  orthodox  forefathers  must  have  had 
grave  doubts  about  this  bird  —  if  they  ever  thought  of 
anything  so  comfortable  —  it  is  such  a  happy,  hearty, 
natural  creature,  that  it  must  be  very  wicked,  and  ripe 
for  a  future,  if  any,  in  the  place  where  they  make  red- 
hot  cobblestones  of  the  skulls  of  godless  birds  and 
babies.  But  being  neither  Puritanic  nor  Satanic  —  your 
choice  for  a  penny  —  nor  in  any  way  troubled  with 
doctrines  that  damn  humanity  and  diabolize  the  Deity, 
the  Song  Sparrow  flushes  with  music  'as  soon  as  winter 
relaxes  in  the  least,  finding  full  voice  in  March,  when 
those  who  have  worried  through  the  cold  greet  the 
new  arrivals  from  the  South,  and  all  together  fill  a 
chorus  to  which  the  shrubbery  resounds  unceasingly, 
till  some  sharp  wind  comes  along  to  remind  the  birds 
that  time  is  fleeting,  though  their  art  be  never  so  long. 
But  the  storm  must  repeat  its  warnings  to  dampen 
even  an  ardor  that  is  never  entirely  quenched ;  for 
passion  lingers  long  in  breasts  that  have  once  felt  the 
17 


258  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

glow,  and  it  takes  a  good  while  to  sober  the  Song 
Sparrows  after  their  summer's  hey-day.  We  still  hear 
their  trill,  like  a  memory  rather  than  a  hope,  when  the 
woods  and  fields  have  reached  the  golden  gates  of 
fruition.  Then  many  Sparrows,  who  have  made  up 
their  minds  to  see  it  through,  go  into  winter-quarters 
with  much  chirping  of  mutual  encouragement,  while 
others  join  the  departing  hosts  which  are  off  for  the 
"sunny  South." 

Few  nests,  such  as  those  of  Swallows,  Blue-birds, 
King-birds,  Robins,  and  Chippies,  are  better  known 
than  those  of  the  Song  Sparrows,  and  their  richly 
speckled  eggs  are  among  every  boy's  treasures.  Not 
that  I  can  any  longer  pretend  to  belong  to  that  hap- 
pily perverse  fraternity  —  but  I  have,  nevertheless, 
about  a  hundred  evidences  of  at  least  twenty  bit- 
terly disappointed  pairs  of  Song  Sparrows  before  me 
for  description.  It  is  no  easy  task — I  see  so  much  dif- 
ference among  them  in  size,  shape,  and  color,  as  I  run 
my  eye  over  the  neat  rows  of  trays,  each  containing 
from  three  to  six  specimens,  and  such  close  general 
similarity  to  the  eggs  of  half  a  dozen  other  kinds  of 
Sparrows.  In  size,  several  selected  specimens  run 
from  0.75  to  0.85  in  length,  averaging  near  the  mean 
of  these  two  numbers,  by  0.55  to  0.60  in  breadth. 
The  pattern  and  precise  effect  of  the  markings  is  end- 
lessly variable ;  but  three  eggs  may  be  selected  to  il- 
lustrate the  principal  styles.  One,  the  rarest,  is  of  de- 
cidedly greenish-white  ground-color,  sparsely  sprinkled 
with  pale  reddish-brown  and  lavender,  in  small  pattern, 
and  chiefly  about  the  larger  end  —  the  ground-color  in 
such  cases  being  more  obtrusive  than  the  spotting.  In 
another  extreme,  the  whole  surface  is  so  thickly  flecked 


MELOSPIZA    FASCIATA  I    SONG    SPARROW.  259 

and  clouded  with  chocolate  that  the  grayish-white 
ground  is  almost  entirely  overlaid ;  such  specimens 
are  like  the  usual  run  of  Savanna  Sparrow  eggs,  but 
larger.  A  third  style,  decidedly  the  handsomest,  is 
where  either  a  greenish  or  grayish  ground  is  very 
boldly  marked  with  heavy  blotches  of  rich  umber 
brown,  in  several  shades  of  intensity.  These  make 
very  pretty  objects,  especially  if  the  ground  be  bright, 
and  the  principal  markings  wreathed  around  the  larger 
end.  On  the  whole,  it  may  be  safely  said  that  some 
Song  Sparrow  eggs  resemble  each  other  less  than 
some  other  ones  do  the  eggs  of  different  Sparrows. 
The  nest  is  not  an  affair  of  much  art  —  it  would  be  too 
much  to  expect  a  Sparrow  to  unite  all  the  graces  with 
an  unquestionable  muse  —  but  is  substantial,  well  ap- 
pointed, and  doubtless  perfectly  satisfactory  to  its  build- 
ers, who  bring  together  a  very  miscellaneous  assortment 
of  grasses,  weeds,  and  leaves,  and  line  the  cavity  with 
fine  grass-stems  and  rootlets,  together  with  hair  in 
some  cases.  Being  astir  in  housekeeping  very  early 
in  the  season,  usually  by  "moving-day"  in  May,  the 
Song  Sparrows  are  able  to  bring  up  two  or  even  three 
families  in  one  season,  and  eggs  may  consequently  be 
found  nearly  through  the  summer,  as  well  as  in  May. 
The  nest  is  placed  in  a  bush,  close  to  the  ground,  or 
upon  the  ground  itself,  undrr  friendly  shelter  of  the 
herbage,  in  field  or  pasture,  by  the  roadside  or  in  the 
hedge,  rarely  at  any  considerable  height.  Once  in 
awhile  an  original  pair  will  show  eccentricity  in  choos- 
ing a  hole  in  a  tree  or  stump.  I  have  known  of  such 
a  case ;  Mr.  Merriam  speaks  of  another,  where  the 
pair  selected  a  hole  two  feet  from  the  ground  ;  and  Mr. 
Minot  saw  or  heard  of  several  vagaries,  the  birds  hav- 


260  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

ing  in  one  instance  nested  in  a  broken  jar.  Birds 
habitually  give  themselves  more  freedom  of  choice  in 
such  matters  than  the  ornithologists  are  usually  dis- 
posed to  allow  them ;  and  it  is  only  in  the  cases  of  the 
commonest  species,  whose  tastes  and  habits  are  best 
known  to  us,  that  we  fully  appreciate  this  fact,  as  well 
as  one  other,  equally  true,  that  different  individuals  of 
the  same  species  may  be  very  skilful  or  comparatively 
bungling  in  their  architecture.  I  have  occasionally 
been  surprised  at  some  things  of  this  sort,  which  a 
barefooted  boy  has  taken  quite  as  a  matter  of  course  — 
and  not  that  I  knew  more,  but  less,  than  the  urchin 
did,  about  "the  tricks  and  the  manners  "  of  the  me- 
lodious feathered  artisan. 


BLACK  SNOW-BIRD. 

JUNCO     HIEMALIS    (L.)    Sd. 

Chars.  Male  :  Blackish-ash  ;  below,  abruptly  pure  white  from  the 
breast  backward  ;  two  or  three  outer  tail-feathers  white ;  bill 
white,  usually  with  a  pink  flush  and  dark  tip.  Female,  young, 
and  most  winter  specimens  :  The  slate-color  impure,  being  gray- 
ish, or  even  decidedly  brownish  ;  inner  secondaries  edged  with 
chestnut ;  color  of  bill  more  or  less  obscured.  Length,  about 
6.50  ;  extent,  9.50 ;  wing  and  tail,  each,  2.75-3.00. 

The  Black  Snow-bird  is  one  which  can  scarcely 
fail  to  interest  alike  the  amateur  and  the  scientific 
ornithologist.  The  former  sees  about  his  door,  at 
times  when  bird-life  offers  comparatively  little  variety, 
a  troop  of  active,  hardy  little  creatures,  in  neat  and 
becoming  attire,  begging  of  his  bounty  while  they 
challenge  the  winter ;  and  the  latter  finds  in  this  spe- 


JUNCO    HIEMALIS  I    BLACK    SNOW-BIRD. 


26l 


cies  one  whose  summer  resorts  define  the  Canadian 
Fauna  with  precision.  Prof.  Verrill  makes  the  Snow- 
bird prominent  in  the  limitation  of  this  geographical 
area ;  and  the  very  great  southward  extension  of  the 
range  of  the  species  in  the  breeding  season,  along  the 
tops  of  mountains,  is  one  of  the  clearest  illustrations 
of  reciprocity  between  altitude  and  latitude.  At  sea- 
level  in  New  England,  the  bird  nestles  regularly  as 
far  south  at  least  as  Scarborough  and  Cape  Elizabeth 
in  Maine  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iv,  1879,  P-  IO7)-  II  is 
known  to  breed  abundantly  in  Massachusetts  in  the 
elevated  portions  of  Berkshire  County  —  a  fact  attested 
by  repeated  records  which  it  is  needless  to  cite  ;  and 
it  has  been  found  nesting  thence  southward,  on  moun- 
tain-tops, into  the  Southern  States.  Wherever  this 
occurrence  is  observed,  the  locality  may  be  considered 
Canadian  in  faunal  character,  even  though  it  be  an 
isolated  oasis  in  Alleghanian  or  Carolinian  surround- 
ings. Such  circumstances,  the  knowledge  of  which 
has  not  long  been  in  our  possession,  explain  the  sud- 
denness with  which  Snow-birds  are  wont  to  appear 
in  the  fall,  in  the  Southern  and  Middle  as  well  as 
parts  of  the  Eastern  States,  as  harbingers  of  storm  or 
cold  weather.  No  long  migration  from  the  North  is 
implied  by  such  appearances  ;  for  the  birds  have  only 
to  fly  down  from  the  nearest  mountain-tops  where  they 
had  their  summer  "castles  in  the  air." 

A  more  erroneous  record  of  the  Snow-bird  could 
scarcely  be  given  than  is  expressed  in  Dr.  Brewer's 
statement  that  the  bird  is  a  winter  visitant  in  South- 
ern, and  a  resident  in  Northern  New  England.  It  is 
chiefly  a  summer  visitant  in  the  latter,  whence  for  the 
most  part  it  withdraws  in  winter,  few  spending  the 


262  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

whole  of  that  season  north  of  Massachusetts  ;  while,  as 
above  explained,  it  is  on  the  whole  a  permanent  resi- 
dent in  Southern  New  England  —  on  mountains  in 
summer,  elsewhere  at  other  times.  It  is  likely  to  dis- 
appear in  November  from  those  northerly  parts  where 
it  may  breed  down  to  sea-level.  In  Massachusetts, 
excluding  alpine  localities,  it  is  common  from  Octo- 
ber until  some  time  in  May  ;  it  reaches  Connecticut 
early  in  October,  and  does  not  disappear  until  May. 

The  habits  of  the  Snow-bird  during  that  greater 
part  of  the  year  when  it  is  trooping  fearlessly  about 
man's  abode,  with  lively  action  and  incessant  chirp- 
ing, are  too  well  known  to  need  description.  It  is 
most  familiar  just  before  and  during  snow-storms, 
when  it  seems  instinctively  to  seek  the  countenance, 
if  not  the  actual  protection,  of  man  ;  returning  to  com- 
parative seclusion  in  the  shrubbery  during  more  open 
weather,  and  making  for  the  mountains  in  May,  with  a 
simple,  sweet  song  by  way  of  saying  good-by.  The 
nest  is  built  on  the  ground,  early  in  June,  and  is  not  to 
be  distinguished  with  certainty  from  that  of  some  other 
Sparrows  which  nest  in  a  similar  manner.  A  case 
of  tree-building  has  been  recorded  by  Mr.  Maynard, 
Mr.  Bailey  having  found  a  nest  in  a  low  spruce-tree, 
four  feet  from  the  ground.  The  eggs,  numbering  four 
or  five,  measuring  about  0.80x0.60,  are  dull  white, 
grayish-white,  or  greenish-white,  irregularly  but  plen- 
tifully speckled  with  various  shades  of  reddish-brown. 
I  do  not  think  they  are  to  be  positively  identified  by 
any  character,  having  a  close  general  resemblance  to 
several  other  kinds,  laid  by  allied  Sparrows  ;  but  the 
parents,  if  seen,  cannot  well  be  mistaken.  Two  broods 
are  reared  each  season. 


SPIZELLA  MONTICOLA:  TREE  SPARROW.      263 

OREGON    SNOW-BIRD. 
JUNCO   OREGONUS  (Towns.)  Scl. 

Chars.  Head  and  neck  all  around,  and  breast,  black  ;  middle  of 
back  dull  reddish-brown,  and  wings  much  edged  with  the  same ; 
below,  from  the  breast,  abruptly  white,  tinged  on  the  side  with 
pale  reddish-brown.  In  the  female  and  young  the  black  is  ob- 
scured by  brownish,  but  the  species  may  always  be  distinguished 
by  an  evident  contrast  in  color  between  the  interscapulars  and 
head,  and  the  fulvous  wash  on  the  sides.  Size  of  the  preceding. 

This  well-known  Western  species  has  once  occurred 
in  New  England,  where  its  appearance  is  of  course 
entirely  exceptional,  like  that  of  Turdus  nczvius  or 
Chondestes  grammicus.  A  specimen,  the  identity  of 
which  seems  to  have  been  placed  beyond  question, 
was  shot  at  Watertown,  Mass.,  March  25,  1874,  as 
recorded  by  Mr.  Brewster  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Nut- 
tall  Ornithological  Club,  i,  April,  1876,  p.  19. 


TREE    SPARROW. 
SPIZELLA  MONTICOLA  (Gm.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Crown  chestnut,  in  the  adult,  without  black  on  the  fore- 
head ;  in  immature  and  winter  specimens  the  feathers  are  usually 
skirted  with  gray.  Upper  mandible  black,  lower  mostly  yellow  ; 
legs  brown,  toes  black.  A  grayish  supraciliary  and  loral  line, 
with  some  chestnut  marks  on  the  side  of  the  head.  Under  parts 
whitish,  tinged  with  ash  anteriorly,  washed  with  brown  on  the 
flanks  ;  a  dusky  blotch  on  the  breast.  Middle  of  back  boldly 
streaked  with  black,  bay,  and  flaxen  ;  middle  and  lesser  wing- 
coverts  black,  edged  with  bay  and  tipped  with  white,  forming  two 
cross-bars.  A  handsome  Sparrow,  largest  of  the  genus,  about 
equalling  a  Snow-bird  in  size. 


264  FRINGILLID^E  I    FINCHES. 

Though  a  near  relative  of  the  familiar  Chippy,  the 
Tree  Sparrow  appears  in  New  England  under  the  very 
opposite  conditions,  being  a  northerly  bird  scarcely 
known  among  us  except  as  a  migrant  and  winter  vis- 
itant, like  some  of  the  other  boreal  FringiUidce  we 
have  already  noticed.  It  is  given  in  Mr.  Allen's  faunal 
lists  as  a  species  limited,  like  Junco  hiemalis,  in  the 
breeding  season  by  the  Canadian  Fauna,  and  there- 
fore should  be  found  nesting  in  Northern  New  Eng- 
land. But  its  true  summer  home  is  the  Hudsonian 
Fauna,  and  I  am  unable  to  cite  any  instance  of  its 
breeding  within  our  limits.  It  is  one  of  the  most  abun- 
dant birds  of  winter,  and  also  one  which  makes  its 
appearance  most  regularly.  Entering  the  Canadian 
Fauna  in  the  fall,  the  Tree  Sparrow  becomes  gen- 
erally distributed  by  the  latter  part  of  October,  and 
continues  in  numbers  until  late  in  April.  It  is  usually 
found  in  shrubbery,  flocking  with  numbers  of  its  own 
kind,  but  scarcely  associating  with  other  species,  unless 
it  is  the  Snow-bird.  The  following  picture  of  a  winter 
scene  in  Dakota,  with  these  brave  little  Sparrows  in 
the  foreground,  will  give  an  idea  of  their  habits  at 
that  season ;  it  is  from  Dr.  Coues's  "  Birds  of  the 
Northwest,"  p.  147  : 

"At  Fort  Randall  I  found  these  birds  as  abundant 
as  I  have  ever  seen  them  anywhere,  during  pleasant 
weather  in  the  month  of  October.  All  the  under- 
growth of  the  river-bottom  was  full  of  them,  in  troops 
sometimes  numbering  hundreds,  singing  as  gaily,  it 
seemed  to  me,  as  in  spring-time.  With  the  colder 
weather  of  the  following  month,  so  many  moved  oft' 
that  I  thought  none  would  remain  to  endure  the  rigor 
of  winter,  but  such  proved  to  be  not  the  case.  The 


SPIZELLA    MONTICOLA  I    TREE    SPARROW.          265 

remainder  simply  retreated  to  the  deepest  recesses  of 
the  shrubbery,  where,  protected  from  the  biting  winds, 
if  not  from  the  cold,  they  passed  the  winter,  and  to 
all  appearances  very  comfortably.  I  account  for  their 
remaining  at  this  inclement  season,  by  the  profusion 
of  seeds  of  various  kinds  that  are  to  be  obtained  during 
the  whole  winter ;  certainly,  those  that  I  shot  were  in 
good  condition,  and  generally  had  the  crop  well  filled. 
Their  seclusion  and  quietness  at  this  season  is  remark- 
able, and  causes  them  to  be  in  a  great  measure  over- 
looked. On  several  occasions,  when  the  thermometer 
was  far  below  zero,  the  river  frozen  solid  for  two  feet 
deep,  and  snow  on  the  ground,  I  have  unexpectedly 
come  upon  little  groups  of  these  birds,  hiding  away 
close  to  the  ground  among  and  under  a  net-work  of 
vines  and  rank  herbage,  close  enough  to  collect  and 
retain  a  mantle  of  snow.  When  startled  at  such  times 
they  have  a  low,  pleasant  chirp  as  they  flutter  into 
sight  among  the  bushes,  scattering  a  little,  but  only  to 
collect  again  and  seek  their  snug  retreat  as  soon  as 
left  to  themselves.  Whether  rendered  careless  by  the 
cold,  or  through  a  natural  heedlessness,  they  are  very 
tame  at  such  times ;  they  sit  unconcernedly  on  the 
twigs,  it  may  be  but  a  few  feet  distant,  chirping  cheer- 
fully, with  the  plumage  all  loosened  and  puffy,  making 
very  pretty  "roly-poly"  looking  objects.  There  is  a 
particular  kind  of  plant  here,  the  seeds  of  which  en- 
dure all  winter,  furnishing  a  favorite  repast.  In  a 
clump  of  these  tall  weeds  dozens  of  the  birds  may  be 
seen  together,  busily  feeding.  Some,  more  energetic, 
spring  up  and  cling  to  the  swaying  panicles,  picking 
away,  while  others  gather  about  the  stem,  getting  a 
good  dinner,  without  trouble,  off  the  seeds  that  their 


266  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

neighbors  above  rattle  down.  At  such  times  the  whole 
company  keep  up  an  animated  conversation,  express- 
ing their  satisfaction,  no  doubt,  in  their  own  language  ; 
it  is  more  than  chirping,  and  not  quite  singing  —  a 
low,  soft,  continuous  chanting,  as  pleasing  as  it  is 
indescribable.  The  Tree  Sparrow  is,  indeed,  one  of 
the  sweet-voiced  of  our  Sparrows,  and  one  very  fond 
of  singing,  not  only  in  the  spring,  but  at  other  sea- 
sons ;  times  are  hard  with  it  indeed  when  it  cannot, 
on  occasion,  tune  its  gentle  pipe." 

The  Tree  Sparrow  is  said  to  nest  indifferently  upon 
trees,  bushes,  or  the  ground.  The  eggs  are  not  at  all 
like  those  of  the  Chip-bird,  more  resembling  those  of 
Song  Sparrows,  being  of  a  vague  bluish-green  ground 
color,  speckled  and  blotched  with  different  shades  of 
reddish-brown,  and  having  the  endless  variations  of 
style  which  Song  Sparrow  eggs  are  so  well  known  to 
present.  They  measure  about  0.80x0.60. 


CHIPPING   SPARROW,  OR  HAIR-BIRD. 
SPIZELLA  DOMESTICA  (Bartr.)  Coues. 

Chars.  Adult :  Bill  black  ;  feet  pale  ;  crown  bright  chestnut ;  fore- 
head black  ;  a  pale  supraciliary  line,  and  below  this  a  dusky  stripe 
through  the  eye.  Under  parts  pale  ash,  without  marks.  Back 
streaked  with  black,  bay,  and  grayish-brown,  the  inner  seconda- 
ries and  wing-coverts  similarly  variegated,  with  two  whitish  cross- 
bars ;  rump  dark  ash  ;  primaries  and  tail-feathers  dusky,  pale- 
edged,  without  strong  markings.  Sexes  similar :  in  the  young 
the  bill  is  not  black,  the  crown  is  streaked  like  the  back,  and  the 
breast  and  sides  are  thickly  streaked  with  dusky.  Length,  5.25- 
5.50  ;  extent,  8.00  :  wing,  2.75  ;  tail,  2.50. 


SPIZELLA    DOMESTICA  :    CHIPPING    SPARROW.       267 

While  Spring  still  hesitates,  with  lingering  doubts 
of  the  reception  to  be  given  by  New  England,  —  for 
patches  of  snow  still  cling  to  the  shaded  hollows  and 
north-facing  slopes,  —  one  may  hear  from  some  bush 
or  tree  by  the  wayside  a  rapid  succession  of  sharp 
sounds,  as  if  bits  of  flint  were  being  chipped  by  striking 
against  each  other.  This  is  the  way  the  bird-medley 
soon  to  follow  is  opened  by  the  familiar  bird  who  takes 
his  name  from  such  peculiar  quality  of  voice  —  a  clever 
little  fellow  in  a  jaunty  red  cap,  with  a  good  deal  of 
self-possession  if  not  self-assertion,  and  a  great  favor- 
ite. Later  in  the  season,  when  he  has  settled  with  his 
mate  at  our  very  door,  the  children  make  Chippy's 
acquaintance,  peering  into  the  maze  of  the  shrub- 
bery that  climbs  over  the  piazza,  or  into  the  heart  of  a 
cedar  bush,  to  discover  the  neat  horse-hair  nest  there 
snugly  hidden. 

On  the  whole,  the  Sparrow  family  is  not  noted  for 
the  elegance  or  the  ingenuity  of  their  architecture ; 
nor  are  the  many  species  well  distinguished  by  their 
styles  of  nest-building.  The  Hair-bird  is  one  of  the 
most  notable  in  these  respects,  making  a  much  neater 
fabric  than  usual,  and  one  scarcely  to  be  mistaken  for 
that  of  any  other  bird.  It  is  a  deep  cup,  with  a  smooth, 
firm  brim,  almost  invariably  lined  with  horse-hairs, 
and  sometimes  consisting  chiefly  or  entirely  of  such 
material ;  usually,  however,  fine  grasses  and  rootlets 
form  the  substance  of  the  walls  and  basement.  The 
location  of  the  nest  is  also  to  some  extent  character- 
istic. Chippy  seldom,  if  ever,  —  and  then  only  for  a 
freak,  —  nests  on  the  ground,  and  not  often  in  trees 
of  any  size,  bushes  and  vines  being  entirely  to  his 
fancy.  Becoming  accustomed  to  the  presence  of  man, 


268  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

the  little  birds  grow  to  the  last  degree  confiding  and 
fearless ;  one  may  not  seldom  be  seen  covering  her 
treasures  within  arm's-reach  of  those  who  sit  or  walk 
upon  the  piazza.  The  eggs  are  no  less  recognizable 
than  the  nest,  being  pale  bluish-green,  sparingly  dotted 
and  speckled,  sometimes  blotched  or  scrawled,  with 
blackish-brown.  Most  of  the  surface  has  usually  but 
few  markings,  or  none.  The  markings  tend  to  clus- 
ter or  wreathe  about  the  larger  end  of  the  egg.  The 
smaller  dots  are  usually  quite  blackish  :  larger  blotches, 
when  any,  being  browner ;  and  with  both  are  com- 
monly found  less  positive  markings,  the  pigment  in 
these  cases  being  overlaid,  and  so  obscured  by  the 
greenish  shell-substance.  Two  sets  of  eggs  are  usu- 
ally laid,  the  first  early  in  June,  or  even  by  the  latter 
part  of  May,  the  other  in  July.  The  eggs,  four  or 
five  in  number,  average  in  size  about  0.66x0.48. 

While  it  is  quite  proper  to  rate  this  familiar  little 
house  Finch  as  a  summer  resident  of  New  England, 
that  being  the  r6le  it  chiefly  sustains  in  our  bird-life, 
some  qualification  is  required  to  square  the  statement 
by  the  actual  facts.  In  the  first  place,  some  of  these 
birds  enter  the  country  by  its  southern  border  among 
the  very  earliest  of  the  migrants,  appearing  in  Con- 
necticut even  before  February  closes.  All  the  Chip- 
birds,  again,  are  not  gone  till  November  is  nearly 
over ;  and  Mr.  Grinnell  records  that  a  few  sometimes 
spend  the  whole  winter  in  the  towns,  with  the  English 
Sparrow.  The  birds  are  likewise  more  abundant  in 
Southern  than  in  Northern  New  England,  and  more 
so  in  populated  than  in  primitive  tracts  of  country. 
They  are  consequently  among  the  several  species  who 
have  to  contend  with  the  English  Sparrows  in  the 


SPIZELLA    AGRESTIS  :    FIELD    SPARROW.  269 

ceaseless  "  struggle  for  existence "  that  is  the  order 
of  Nature  for  all  creatures.  During  the  pairing  and 
nesting  periods  they  are  pretty  equally  dispersed  in 
their  usual  haunts,  showing  no  gregarious  disposition  ; 
but  in  the  fall,  preceding  or  during  the  migration, 
flocks  of  considerable  size  make  up  by  the  roadside 
and  in  the  pasture-land.  They  have  at  times  a  song 
quite  different  from  the  sharp,  monotonous  trill  so 
characteristic  of  the  spring-time,  and  of  much  more 
musical  quality  ;  and  they  are  among  the  several  birds 
of  our  country  which  occasionally  wake  up  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  night,  to  twitter  a  tremulous  expression  of 
their  happiness,  and  then  sink  quietly  to  sleep  again. 


FIELD   SPARROW. 
SPIZELLA  AGRESTIS  (Bartr.)  Coues. 

Chars.  With  nearly  the  size  and  shape  of  S.  socialis,  but  the  color- 
ation more  that  of  S.  monticola.  Bill  pale  reddish  ;  feet  very 
pale  ;  crown  dull  chestnut,  without  black  on  the  forehead  ;  sides 
of  the  head  and  neck  with  vague  brown  markings  :  those  parts 
which  in  socialis  are  ashy,  here  pale  brownish.  Middle  of  back 
bright  bay,  with  some  black  streaking  and  pale  flaxen  edging 
of  the  feathers  ;  inner  secondaries  colored  to  correspond ;  two 
decided  whitish  wing-bars,  formed  by  the  tips  of  the  median 
and  greater  coverts.  Under  parts  white,  without  markings,  but 
much  tinged  with  pale  brown,  or  clay-color.  Tail  rather  long, 
narrow,  and  emarginate,  proportionally  longer  than  in  S.  socialis, 
rather  exceeding,  instead  of  being  a  little  shorter  than,  the  wing. 
Sexes  alike  :  young  similar,  but  for  a  short  time  streaked  below, 
as  in  S.  socialis. 

This  small  and  rather  plainly  colored  Sparrow  is 
to  be  carefully  distinguished,  among  the  several  spe- 


270  FRINGILLID^E  I    FINCHES. 

cies  already  treated  to  which  the  name  of  "Field" 
or  "Ground"  Sparrow  is  very  loosely  applied  by  those 
who  do  not  recognize  the  nice  distinctions  which  sub- 
sist among  these  closely  related  birds.  It  should  be 
easily  identified  by  the  above  description,  though  it 
is  one  of  the  common  species  whose  distinctive  traits 
and  habits  are  not  so  well  known  as  they  might  easily 
be.  The  nest  is  somewhat  like  that  of  the  Chip-bird 
in  construction,  but  not  so  neat,  nor  so  conspicuously 
composed  of  horse  hair ;  straws,  rootlets,  and  other 
vegetable  fibre  entering  more  largely  into  its  con- 
struction. It  is  also  usually  placed  on  the  ground,  at 
the  foot  of  a  small  bush,  or  but  a  little  way  up  in 
some  low  shrub.  The  eggs  are  entirely  different  in 
color  from  the  Chippy's,  though  of  the  same  size  and 
shape,  being  white  (grayish-white  or  greenish-white) 
speckled  all  over  with  reddish-brown  of  varying  shades, 
and  generally  quite  light.  The  general  resemblance 
is  with  the  eggs  of  the  Yellow-winged  Sparrow,  rather 
than  with  those  of  other  species  of  Spizclla.  There 
are  two  broods,  the  first  eggs  being  laid  late  in  May. 
It  is  a  common  New  England  bird,  in  field,  pas- 
ture, and  scrub  land,  playing  in  Southern  portions 
much  the  same  role  that  the  Chippy  sustains ;  but  is 
decidedly  more  southerly  in  its  general  range.  It  is 
naturally  limited  northward  by  the  Alleghanian  Fauna, 
and  is  not  common  beyond  such  boundary,  though  ex- 
tending also  into  the  Canadian.*  It  can  in  fact  hardly 

*  On  this  subject  compare  Brewer,  Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xvii,  1875, 
p.  442,  where  it  is  implied  that  the  species  is  a  summer  resident 
of  all  New  England,  with  Purdie,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  i,  1876,  p.  73, 
and  ii,  1877,  p.  15,  where  it  is  shown  that  the  bird  seldom  reaches 
Northern  New  England. 


SPIZELLA   AGRESTIS  I    FIELD    SPARROW.  27! 

be  called  abundant  north  of  Massachusetts.  Reach- 
ing the  borders  of  our  country  early  in  April,  it  spreads 
to  its  natural  limit  during  that  month  ;  in  October  it 
makes  up  into  flocks,  which  begin  to  move  southward, 
though  it  has  been  found  in  Connecticut  all  through 
the  month  of  November. 

This  humble  little  Finch  is  very  melodious,  and  has 
an  extensive  and  varied  score  to  sing  from.  The  un- 
usual compass  of  its  vocal  powers  has  led  to  the  most 
diverse  estimates  of  its  musical  ability ;  but  it  would 
appear  that  those  are  nearest  right  who  give  it  the 
most  praise.  Mr.  Grinnell  calls  the  song  "  loud,  clear, 
and  pleasing,"  adding  that  one  may  consider  himself 
fortunate  who  has  mastered  its  numerous  variations. 
Mr.  Allen  remarks  that  the  songs  of  the  males  in 
Florida  were  so  different  from  those  of  the  Northern 
birds  that  he  could  scarcely  recognize  them  as  coming 
from  the  same  source.  Another  late  writer,  Mr.  Mi- 
not,  who  calls  the  little  Field  Sparrows  "charming 
songsters,"  leaves  this  record  of  his  impressions : 
"Wilson  speaks  of  their  chirruping,  by  which  he 
probably  refers  to  their  occasional  twitters,  but  he 
says  that  they  have  no  song.  But  the  Field  Spar- 
rows do  sing,  and  very  sweetly,  most  often  in  the 
early  morning  and  towards  evening,  though  also* at 
other  times  of  the  day.  Their  notes  are  swreet  and 
very  clear,  and  have  been  likened  to  the  tinkling  of 
a  bell.  They  open  with  a  few  exquisitely  modulated 
whistles,  each  higher  and  a  very  little  louder  than  the 
preceding,  and  close  with  a  sweet  trill." 


272  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

BREWER'S    SPARROW. 
SPIZELLA  BREWERI  Cass. 

Chars.  Similar  to  S, pallida  (a  Western  species  of  the  genus);  the 
coloration  paler  and  duller,  the  markings  less  distinct;  streaks  of 
the  crown  and  back  small,  numerous,  not  separated  by  a  nuchal 
interval,  and  no  definite  markings  on  the  side  of  the  head. 

This  is  a  Western  species,  admitted  to  the  list  with 
some  doubt ;  but  a  specimen  of  a  small  Sparrow,  ap- 
parently S.  breweri,  was  taken  at  Watertown,  Mass., 
Dec.  15,  1873.  (See  Brewster,  Am.  Nat.,  viii,  1874, 
p.  366;  Brewer,  Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xvii,  1875,-  P-  442  5 
Allen,  Bull.  Essex  Inst.,  x,  1878,  p.  17.)  The  occur- 
rence of  such  a  bird  is  of  course  entirely  accidental. 


WHITE-THROATED    SPARROW. 

ZONOTRICHIA    ALBICOLLIS    (Gm.) 


Chars.  Adult  male  :  Crown  black,  divided  by  a  median  white  stripe. 
A  yellow  line  from  bill  to  eye,  thence  a  white  stripe  over  eye  to 
hind  head;  below  this  a  black  stripe  through  eye;  below  this 
again  a  black  stripe  bounding  the  definitely  pure  white  throat, 
which  contrasts  strongly  with  the  dark  ash  of  the  breast  and 
sides  of  the  head.  Bend  of  wing  yellow.  Middle  of  back  streaked 
with  black,  chestnut  and  fulvous  white  ;  rump  ashy,  without  mark- 
ings. Wings  with  two  white  cross-bars,  and  much  bay  edging 
of  the  coverts  and  under  quills.  Under  parts  white,  washed  with 
brownish  on  the  sides,  shading  into  the  ash  of  the  foreparts. 
Female,  and  immature  male  :  Black  of  the  head  replaced  by 
brown,  the  white  throat  less  conspicuously  contrasted  with  the 
duller  and  more  brownish  ash  of  the  breast,  the  breast  and  sides 
often  with  obscure  streaks  ;  but  the  yellow  on  the  lore  and  edge 
of  the  wing  is  probably  always  evident,  and  will  serve  for  the 
recognition  of  the  species  in  connection  with  the  large  size  and 
other  characters.  Length,  6.50-7.00  ;  extent  about  9.00  ;  wing, 
3.00  ;  tail  nearly  or  about  the  same. 


Z.    ALBICOLLIS  :    WHITE-THROATED    SPARROW.       273 

This  is  a  large,  handsome  Sparrow,  scarcely  sur- 
passed in  size  and  beauty  by  the  Fox  Sparrow  itself. 
The  full-dressed  males  in  spring,  with  the  head  per- 
fectly black,  white  and  yellow,  singing  their  charac- 
teristic notes,  are  conspicuous  objects  in  the  copses 
and  along  the  hedge-rows.  The  White-throats  are 
found  all  the  year  round  in  one  or  another  portion 
of  New  England,  but  are  most  numerous  during  the 
migrations.  The  manner  of  their  presence  among  us 
is  easily  given.  They  are  birds  of  the  eastern  United 
States  at  large,  whose  summer  home  is  practically 
limited  'to  the  southward  by  the  Canadian  Fauna,  to 
gain  and  retire  from  which  they  pass  through  the  Alle- 
ghanian  and  Carolinian  in  spring  and  fall,  a  small 
number  remaining  through  the  winter  in  the  latter. 
But,  characteristic  as  the  species  is  of  the  first-named 
Fauna,  it  is  nevertheless  known  to  nest  in  the  Alle- 
ghanian.  It  was  long  ago  noted  by  Prof.  Emmons  to 
breed  in  Massachusetts,  and  this  early  record  has  been 
confirmed  by  late  observations.  Mr.  F.  C.  Browne 
has  recorded  a  nest  with  four  eggs  found  in  Framing- 
ham  near  the  Natick  line,  in  June,  1874.  -^  was  s^u~ 
ated  in  a  tussock  of  grass  in  a  rather  wet  meadow, 
adjoining  a  wooded  swamp  filled  with  alders  (Bull. 
Nutt.  Club,  v,  1880,  p.  52 ;  see,  also,  Hist.  N.  A. 
Birds,  i,  1874,  p.  575).  On  the  I3th  of  June,  1874, 
Mr.  N.  C.  Brown  found  a  nest  containing  four  eggs 
in  Scarborough,  Maine,  where  subsequent  observa- 
tions showed  the  bird  to  be  a  rather  common  summer 
resident,  as  it  was  also  in  suitable  localities  throughout 
Cumberland  County.  It  is  unnecessary,  however,  to 
adduce  the  many  instances  that  might  be  given  to 
establish  the  fact  that  the  bird  breeds  commonly  in 

18 


274  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

suitable  places  throughout  the  three  northern  New 
England  States.  It  is  chiefly  a  ground-builder,  though 
in  exceptional  cases  the  nest  is  placed  in  bushes,  or 
among  the  branches  of  fallen  trees ;  the  location 
chosen  being  usually  a  swamp,  or  low  ground  near 
one.  The  nest  is  not  characteristic  —  ground  nests 
seldom  are ;  but  is  to  be  distinguished  by  its  size,  if 
anything,  from  those  of  some  of  its  allies.  The  eggs, 
numbering  four  or  five,  and  measuring  about  o. pox 
0.66,  resemble  those  of  Song  Sparrows,  except  in  size, 
and  have  the  endless  diversity  of  tone  and  pattern 
of  markings  observable  in  the  latter.  Some  are  quite 
pale  greenish  and  scarcely  speckled  with  light  reddish- 
brown,  while  in  the  other  extreme  the  dull  grayish 
ground  is  almost  hidden  by  the  thick  flecking  and 
even  clouding  of  chocolate-brown.  The  second  week 
in  June  is  probably  the  height  of  the  laying  season. 

During  most  of  the  spring  and  fall,  that  is,  for 
nearly  two  months  of  each  of  these  seasons,  the 
White-throats  are  migrating,  and  very  generally  dis- 
persed. They  usually  appear  in  spring  early  in  April, 
and  have  not  settled  in  their  breeding-grounds  until 
May  is  nearly  passed.  Returning  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember, they  linger  more  leisurely  than  in  spring, 
through  part  or  all  of  November,  —  and  we  have  the 
authority  of  Mr.  Grinnell  for  the  statement  that  some 
remain  all  winter  in  Connecticut.  The  ordinary  note 
is  not  remarkable,  but  the  song  is  very  agreeable  — 
a  series  of  clear  whistles  which  have  been  likened  to 
the  words  "  pea-peabody,  peabody,  peabody,"  and  have 
given  to  the  bird  one  of  its  local  appellations. 


Z.    LEUCOPHRYS  :    WHITE-CROWNED    SPARROW.       275 

WHITE-CROWNED    SPARROW. 

ZONOTRICHIA    LEUCOPHRYS     (Forst.)   SlV. 

Chars.  Adult,  of  both  sexes  :  Crown  of  head  white,  enclosing  a 
broad  black  band  on  either  side,  which  meets  its  fellow  across 
forehead  and  descends  to  fill  the  lores,  and  bounded  by  a  black 
stripe  from  the  eye  to  the  nape  ;  lower  eyelid  white.  General 
color  dark  ash,  paler  below  than  above,  whitening  on  chin  and 
belly,  brownish  on  the  flanks  and  under  tail-coverts,  the  middle 
of  the  back  streaked  with  purplish-bay  and  ashy-white.  Wing- 
coverts  and  inner  quills  edged  with  bay  ;  wings  with  two  white 
cross-bars  ;  no  yellow  on  head  or  wing ;  bill  and  feet  reddish. 
Young :  The  black  of  the  head  of  the  adults  replaced  by  rich 
warm  brown,  the  white  by  pale  brown,  and  the  general  ashy  color 
obscured  with  brownish.  Size  of  Z.  albicollis. 

This  elegant  Sparrow,  not  inferior  in  size  and 
beauty  to  the  last  species  described,  is  a  bird  of  the 
same  general  habits  and  appearance,  and  somewhat 
similar  distribution  ;  but  it  is  on  the  whole  more  north- 
erly, more  irregular  in  its  appearance,  and  not  so 
common.  It  is  placed  by  Mr.  Allen  in  the  same 
Faunal  category  as  the  White-throat,  as  a  species  lim- 
ited in  southern  distribution  in  the  breeding  season 
by  the  Canadian  Fauna ;  but  might  perhaps  be  better 
considered  as  a  member  of  the  Hudsonian,  though  cer- 
tainly overlapping  the  other.  It  is  scarcely  known  in 
New  England  except  as  a  migrant  and  occasional 
winter  loiterer  in  southern  portions.  It  is,  however,  au- 
thenticated as  breeding  within  our  limits.  Dr.  Brewer 
has  given  such  a  record  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iii,  1878, 
p.  195),  Mr.  H.  E.  Boughton,  of  Rutland,  Vermont, 
having  found  a  pair  breeding  in  that  locality.  The 
nest  was  situated  in  a  clump  of  blackberry  and  maple 


276  FRINGILLlD^fC  :    FINCHES. 

bushes,  about  three  and  one-half  feet  from  the  ground, 
and  was  a  bulky  thick-walled  structure  of  grasses,  out- 
side as  large  as  a  Robin's  nest,  with  a  proportionally 
small  cavity.  The  eggs  of  this  species  are  not  distin- 
guishable from  those  of  the  White-throat.  The  song 
is  however  quite  different.  The  irregularity  of  the 
migration  is  witnessed  by  the  great  abundance  of  the 
bird  some  seasons  in  particular  localities,  and  its  rarity 
or  entire  absence  at  other  times  and  places,  render- 
ing it  difficult  to  speak  of  these  matters  with  desirable 
precision.  It  has  occurred  in  the  vicinity  of  Portland 
"in  almost  unprecedented  numbers,"  says  Mr.  N.  C. 
Brown  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  i,  1876,  p.  95).  Mr.  Allen 
has  seen  it  in  Massachusetts  as  late  as  June  6th.  In 
Connecticut,  according  to  Mr.  Merriam,  it  has  been 
found  from  October  to  December,  and  from  March 
20th  to  the  middle  of  May. 


FOX    SPARROW. 
PASSERELLA  ILIACA  (Merr.)  Sw. 

Chars.  General  color  above,  ferruginous,  or  rich  rusty  red,  bright- 
est on  the  rump,  tail,  and  wings,  the  color  appearing  on  the  other 
upper  parts  in  streaks  on  a  dark  ashy  ground.  Below,  white, 
thickly  marked  with  rusty  red,  except  on  the  belly  and  under 
tail-coverts  —  these  markings  diffuse  and  blotted  anteriorly,  on 
the  breast  and  sides  consisting  of  arrow-heads  and  streaks  linked 
in  chains  ;  two  white  wing-bars  across  tips  of  coverts.  Upper 
mandible  dark,  lower  mostly  yellow;  feet  pale,  with  the  lateral 
toes  lengthened  so  that  the  tips  of  their  claws  reach  far  beyond 
the  base  of  the  middle  claw — a  generic  character.  Sexes  alike. 
Length,  about  7.00;  extent,  10.25  >  wmg  and  tail>  each,  3.00  or 
more  ;  bill,  0.40 ;  tarsus,  i.oo. 


PASSERELLA   ILIACA  :    FOX    SPARROW.  277 

Although  this  handsome  Finch  is  given  by  Allen 
in  the  category  of  species  limited  in  their  southward 
range  in  the  breeding  season  by  the  Canadian  Fauna, 
—  which  is  equivalent  to  a  statement  that  it  breeds  in 
northern  New  England,  —  I  can  nevertheless  find  no 
record  to  establish  the  reasonable  inference.  Having 
also  no  information  of  the  presence  of  the  bird  in  win- 
ter within  our  limits,  the  species  must  be  considered, 
for  the  present  at  least,  as  one  of  those  which  are 
migrants,  pure  and  simple,  through  our  country.  In 
whatever  event  to  the  contrary,  as  an  occasional  mat- 
ter, the  Fox  Sparrow's  principal  part  in  New  England 
is  that  of  a  spring  and  fall  passenger  to  and  from  the 
Hudsonian  Fauna.  It  enters  the  country  early  in  Octo- 
ber, becomes  generally  distributed  during  that  month, 
and  may  be  seen  in  southerly  districts  all  through  No- 
vember. Returning,  it  reaches  Connecticut  early  in 
March,  and  generally  takes  about  six  weeks  to  com- 
plete the  vernal  movement.  Conspicuous  as  it  is  by 
its  size  and  beauty,  it  is  furthermore  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  vocalists  of  its  tribe.  While  with  us,  it 
haunts  shrubbery  and  undergrowth  of  all  kinds,  pine 
and  alder  thickets,  hedge-rows,  and  sometimes  weedy 
fields,  keeping  much  on  the  ground,  where  it  is  fond 
of  rambling  and  scratching,  much  like  a  Thrasher  or 
Towhee  Bunting.  Its  ordinary  note  is  a  tsip,  sound- 
ing rather  weak  to  come  from  so  able-bodied  a  bird. 
When  disturbed  in  its  retreats,  it  has  a  habit  of  mount- 
ing to  some  elevated  or  exposed  perch,  apparently  to 
investigate  the  cause  of  the  alarm,  before  determining 
to  secrete  itself  in  the  recesses  of  the  covert.  At  such 
times  it  may  readily  be  seen  or  secured,  but  is  hard  to 
find  when  once  it  has  made  off  in  alarm.  The  note 


278  FRINGILLID^E  .'    FINCHES. 

on  such  occasions  is  a  chuck,  chuck,  uttered  with  much 
energy.  The  beautiful  song  is  sometimes  heard  in 
the  autumn  as  well  as  in  the  spring.  In  the  Arctic 
regions,  where  the  bird  breeds,  the  nest  is  placed  on 
or  near  the  ground,  and  the  eggs  are  marbled  with 
rusty-brown,  often  so  thickly  as  to  conceal  the  ground- 
color. 


LARK    FINCH. 
CHONDESTES   GRAMMICUS  (Say) 

Chars.  "  Head  curiously  variegated  with  chestnut,  black,  and  white ; 
crown  chestnut,  blackening  on  forehead,  divided  by  a  median  stripe, 
and  bounded  by  superciliary  stripes  of  white  ;  a  black  line  through 
eye,  and  another  below  eye,  enclosing  a  white  streak  under  the  eye, 
and  the  chestnut  auriculars  ;  next,  a  sharp  black  maxillary  stripe 
not  quite  reaching  the  bill,  cutting  off  a  white  stripe  from  the  white 
chin  and  throat.  A  black  blotch  in  middle  of  breast  Under  parts 
white,  faintly  shaded  with  grayish-brown  ;  upper  parts  grayish- 
brown,  the  middle  of  the  back  with  fine  black  streaks.  Tail  very 
long,  its  central  feathers  like  the  back,  the  rest  jet  black,  broadly 
tipped  with  pure  white  in  a  diminishing  amount  from  the  lateral 
pair  inward,  the  outer  web  of  the  outer  pair  entirely  white  ;  6.50  to 
7.00;  wing,  3.50,  pointed  ;  tail,  3.00,  rounded."  —  (Coues.) 

Three  instances  of  the  occurrence  of  this  Western 
bird  in  New  England  have  been  recorded.  In  each 
case  the  specimen  was  taken  in  Massachusetts.  One 
was  secured  at  Gloucester,  about  1845  (Putnam,  Pr. 
Essex  Inst.,  i,  1856,  p.  224).  Another  was  takenx  at 
Newtonville,  Nov.  25,  1877  (Purdie,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club, 
iii,  1878,  p.  44).  The  third  was  shot  at  Magnolia, 
Aug.  29,  1879  (Tozvnscnd,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v,  1880, 
p.  53).  The  appearance  of  the  bird  so  far  from  its 
normal  range  is  of  course  fortuitous. 


CALAMOSPIZA    BICOLOR  :    LARK    BUNTING.          279 


LARK    BUNTING. 
CALAMOSPIZA  BICOLOR  (Towns.} 

Chars.  "  Male  :  Entirely  black,  with  a  large  white  patch  on  the 
wings,  and  the  quills  and  tail-feathers  frequently  marked  with 
white  ;  bill  dark  horn  color  above,  paler  below  ;  feet  brown  ; 
6-6£  ;  wing,  3^  ;  tail,  2|.  Sexes  unlike  ;  9  resembling  one  of 
the  Sparrows,  brown  above,  streaked,  white  below,  somewhat 
streaked,  but  always  known  by  the  whitish  wing-patch  ;  $  said  to 
wear  the  white  plumage  only  during  the  breeding  season,  like  the 
Bobolink  (Allen).  In  the  form  of  the  bill  this  interesting  species 
is  closely  allied  to  the  Grosbeaks  (Zamelodia)  ;  and  this,  with 
the  singularly  enlarged  tertiaries,  as  long  as  the  primaries  in  the 
closed  wing,  renders  it  unmistakable  in  any  plumage.  A  prai- 
rie bird  abundant  on  the  Western  plains  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains." —  (Coues.) 

This  is  another  Western  bird  which  has  occurred  in 
New  England  far  away  from  its  native  prairie.  One 
such  instance  -has  been  recorded  by  Mr.  Allen  —  that 
of  a  male  in  autumnal  plumage,  shot  at  Lynn,  Mass., 
by  Mr.  N.  Vickary,  Dec.  5,  1877  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  iii, 
Jan.,  1878,  p.  48). 

BLACK-THROATED    BUNTING. 
SPIZA  AMERICANA  (Gm.)  Bp. 

Chars.  Male  :  Above,  grayish-brown,  streaked  with  black  on  the 
middle  of  the  back,  the  nape  ashy,  the  crown  yellowish-olive  with 
black  touches.  A  yellow  supraciliary  line  ;  eyelids  white  ;  auric- 
ulars  ashy  ;  chin  white  ;  throat  with  a  large  jet  black  patch. 
Under  parts  otherwise  white,  but  shaded  on  the  sides  with 
brownish,  and  extensively  tinged  with  yellow.  Edge  of  wing  yel- 
low. Lesser  and  middle  wing-coverts  chestnut.  Bill  blackish- 
blue  ;  feet  brown.  Length,  6.50-7.00  ;  extent,  10.50  ;  wing,  3.25  ; 
tail,  2.75.  Female  :  Similar  ;  smaller  ;  upper  parts  less  boldly 
marked  ;  wing-coverts  not  chestnut  ;  lower  parts  less  tinged 
with  yellow,  and  no  black  breast-plate,  but  sharp  maxillary  and 
pectoral  streaks  instead. 


280  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

The  New  England  record  of  the  Black-throated 
Bunting  is  interesting,  though  not  so  satisfactory  as 
might  be  desired.  It  seems  that  we  have  in  this  case 
a  bird  of  the  Carolinian  and  part  of  the  Alleghanian 
Fauna,  of  rare  though  constant  occurrence  as  far  north 
as  Massachusetts,  yet  irregular  in  its  numbers  during 
successive  years,  and  locally  distributed  moreover.  It 
has  been  found  not  rare  in  certain  spots,  some  sea- 
sons, and  again,  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  same  places 
at  all.  Thus,  in  1843  Dr.  Linsley  gave  it  as  "very 
common"  about  New  Haven,  Conn.,  where  Mr.  Mer- 
riam,  however,  has  been  unable  to  find  the  bird,  or 
indeed  to  learn  of  any  other  record  of  its  presence 
in  Connecticut.  The  older  ornithologists,  as  Nuttall, 
Emmons,  Peabody,  speak  of  it  as  a  bird  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  recent  observations  abundantly  confirm 
their  statements.  Dr.  Brewer  has  it  as  a  "  summer 
resident,  rare,"  in  southern  New  England ;  Mr.  Allen 
speaks  of  it  as  a  "very  rare  summer  resident"  of 
Massachusetts.  Mr.  H.  A.  Purdie,  of  Boston,  favors 
me  with  manuscript  notes  of  two  Massachusetts  occur- 
rences. In  June,  1873,  two  specimens  were  shot  at 
West  Newbury,  Essex  County  ;  they  were  in  full  song, 
and  evidently  about  to  breed.  A  nest  with  eggs  was 
found  at  Readville,  Mass.,  in  1879.  Mr.  John  Thax- 
ter  obtained  a  specimen  near  Newtonville,  Mass.,  June 
26,  1867  ;  this  was  a  female,  supposed,  from  the  con- 
dition of  the  plumage,  to  be  incubating.  Mr.  E.  A. 
Samuels  mentions  two  others  taken  in  Massachusetts. 
Mr.  Hopkins  found  the  bird  breeding  in  Williamstown, 
and  there  has  been  a  similar  find  at  Hingham.  Among 
late  occurrences  the  following  may  be  specially  noted  : 

In  his  "  Birds  of  New  England,"  p.  229,  Mr.  Minot 


SPIZA    AMERICANA  :    BLACK-THROATED    BUNTING.      28l 

speaks  of  two  instances  of  finding  the  nests,  given  by 
Dr.  Brewer,  and  himself  adds  a  third,  that  of  a  nest 
which  he  found,  with  fresh  eggs,  at  Canton,  early  in 
June.  "It  was  in  a  dry  grassy  field,  near  cultivated 
land,  and  such  a  place  as  these  birds  are  said  usually 
to  inhabit.  The  female  left  her  nest  on  my  approach, 
and  after  running  through  the  grass,  perched  on  a 
low  fence,  from  which  she,  together  with  the  male, 
watched  me  silently." 

In  the  Nuttall  Bulletin  for  1878,  p.  45,  Mr.  H.  A. 
Purdie  speaks  of  a  nest  with  four  eggs  found  by  Mr. 
F.  E.  Bean  at  Medford,  Mass.,  June  9,  1877,  at  which 
date  the  eggs  were  fresh.  This  nest  was  in  a  bush, 
about  a  foot  from  the  ground,  supported  by  the  stem 
of  the  bush  and  the  blades  of  the  grass-clump  in  which 
it  rested.  Toward  the  end  of  June  the  same  observer 
found  a  second  nest,  in  another  locality,  with  four 
young.  This  was  in  a  field  by  the  roadside ;  the  song 
of  the  male,  perched  upon  the  fence,  attracted  atten- 
tion, and  both  parents  were  soon  seen  feeding  their 
young.  Still  other  pairs  had  been  in  the  same  vicin- 
ity, as  Mr.  Bean  heard  other  birds  in  this  and  previous 
years. 

In  the  same  Bulletin  for  1878,  p.  190,  Dr.  Brewer 
presents  an  interesting  record,  stating  that  in  1833 
and  1834  to*8  Bunting  was  by  no  means  uncommon  in 
Cambridge,  in  all  the  then  unoccupied  ground  around 
the  Botanic  Garden  and  thence  to  West  Cambridge 
and  Charlestown.  He  also  says  that  it  may  now  be 
found  every  summer  on  the  high  promontory  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Hingham.  To  verify  the  fact  of 
its  breeding  there,  he  visited  the  place  on  the  3Oth  of 
June,  1878.  "We  found  one  pair  with  young,  which 


282  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

the  female  was  busily  engaged  in  feeding  with  small 
grasshoppers.  They  were  quite  tame  and  unsuspicious, 
and  permitted  a  very  close  approach.  We  saw  two 
other  males,  evidently  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  re- 
spective families.  We  saw  enough  to  satisfy  us  of  its 
actual  presence  in  considerable  numbers." 

A  still  later  record,  the  last  I  shall  cite,  is  furnished 
by  Mr.  R.  Deane  to  the  same  Bulletin  for  1879,  P- 
122.  Says  this  gentleman:  "Through  the  kindness 
of  Mr.  N.  C.  Hammond,  I  am  enabled  to  record  an 
instance  of  its  breeding  in  Hyde  Park,  Mass.,  where 
he  collected  a  nest  containing  four  eggs,  about  August 
i,  1878.  The  nest  was  placed  on  the  ground,  in  the 
middle  of  a  large  open  field,  and  from  the  lateness  of 
this  date  would  indicate  that  it  must  have  been  a  sec- 
ond brood." 


INDIGO-BIRD. 
PASSERINA  CYANEA  (Z.)  Gr. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Indigo  blue,  intense  and  constant  on  the  head, 
more  greenish  in  some  lights  on  other  parts  ;  feathers  at  base  of 
bill  black  ;  wings  and  tail  dusky,  glossed  with  the  general  color. 
Bill  blackish  above,  pale  below,  with  a  black  stripe  on  the  gonys. 
Young  males  are  less  purely  blue,  the  feathers  of  the  under  parts 
skirted  with  white,  etc.  At  an  early  age  they  resemble  the  female. 
Female  entirely  different :  Above,  plain  warm  brown  ;  below,  paler 
or  whitish-brown,  obsoletely  streaked  on  the  breast  and  sides  ; 
besides  this,  there  is  little  variegation  of  the  plumage.  Bill  as  in 
the  male.  Length  about  5.50  ;  extent,  7.25  ;  wing,  2.75  ;  tail,  2.50. 

The  Indigo-bird  is  a  common  summer  resident  in 
New  England,  especially  in  southerly  portions,  be- 
coming less  numerous  the  farther  north  it  proceeds, 


PASSERINA    CYANEA  :    INDIGO-BIRD.  283 

and  probably  not  quite  covering  the  whole  of  our  ter- 
ritory. With  its  rich  plumage,  vivacious  manners,  and 
persistent  though  not  very  brilliant  song,  it  becomes 
one  of  the  more  conspicuous  of  our  summer  birds.  It 
enters  Connecticut  early  in  May,  and  by  the  middle 
of  that  month  is  generally  dispersed.  Being  of  little 
hardihood,  this  representative  of  a  decidedly  southern 
genus  takes  early  departure  in  the  fall,  scarcely  re- 
maining through  September  —  in  fact,  it  is  hardly  to 
be  seen,  except  in  southern  districts,  after  August.  It 
is  found  on  the  edges  of  woods,  along  the  roadsides; 
in  neglected  fields,  and  also  in  orchards  and  gardens, 
where  the  male  is  sure  to  attract  attention  by  his  mo- 
notonous ditty.  The  plainly-clad  female,  busy  with 
her  household  affairs,  is  less  often  seen.  The  nest  is 
built  in  a  bush  or  low  shrubby  tree,  often  quite  close 
to  the  ground.  It  is  not  artistic  —  in  fact  rather  bulky 
and  slovenly,  and  not  at  all  such  a  structure  as  one 
would  expect  from  a  bird  so  dainty.  It  is  built  of  the 
most  miscellaneous  vegetable  fibre,  and  generally  sets 
in  the  upright  crotch  of  the  bush ;  weedstalks,  twigs, 
twine,  coarse  grasses,  and  the  like  make  up  the  bulk 
of  the  nest,  which  is  simply  lined  with  similar  but  finer 
materials.  The  eggs,  to  the  usual  number  of  four  or 
five,  vary  so  much  that  very  different  descriptions  of 
them  have  been  published.  Wilson  and  Audubon  make 
them  out  to  be  always  spotted ;  but  they  are  like  Blue- 
bird eggs,  very  pale  blue,  or  bluish-white,  sometimes 
almost  white,  and  are  generally  unmarked,  though 
occasionally  having  a  few  dots.  They  average  O-75X 
0.55  in  size.  The  eggs  are  laid  about  the  first  of  June, 
and  a  second  set  is  said  to  be  deposited  late  in  July  in 
lower  New  England. 


284  FRINGILLID^E  I    FINCHES. 

BLUE    GROSBEAK. 

GUIRACA   COERULEA    (L.)   Sw. 

Chars.  Male,  adult:  Uniform  rich  dark  blue,  with  black  face,  wings, 
and  tail,  and  two  chestnut  bars  on  the  wings.  Bill  dark  horn  color  ; 
feet  blackish.  Length,  6.50-7.00  ;  extent,  10.25  ;  wing,  3.30  ;  tail, 
3.10.  Female:  Smaller;  plain  warm  brown  above,  paler  flaxen 
brown  below,  the  wings  with  brownish-white  crossbars.  Young 
males  at  first  resemble  the  females  ;  then  show  mixed  brown  and 
blue  ;  then  blue  interrupted  with  white  below. 

The  Blue  Grosbeak  is  thoroughly  a  Southern  bird, 
whose  normal  northward  extension  barely  takes  it  into 
New  England,  as  a  very  rare  and  probably  only  casual 
summer  visitor.  The  name  occurs  in  Herrick's  "Cat- 
alogue of  the  Birds  of  Grand  Menan  "  (1873,  P-  8)  ; 
and  Mr.  G.  A.  Boardman  found  it  near  Calais,  Maine, 
in  the  spring  of  1861  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  ix,  1862,  p.  127). 
Mr.  Merriam  found  no  authority  for  including  the  spe- 
cies in  his  "Review  of  Connecticut  Birds." 

Referring  to  the  occurrences  above  mentioned,  Mr. 
Allen  says  in  1878  (Bull.  Essex  Inst.,  x,  p.  33),  that 
the  species  "is  surely  to  be  added,  sooner  or  later, 
to  the  list  of  Massachusetts  birds.  Its  occurrence  is 
a  -priori  far  more  probable  than  that  of  many  spe- 
cies that  have  been  found  here."  He  has  himself  the 
pleasure  of  verifying  this  inference,  in  the  Nuttall  Bul- 
letin of  July,  1880,  p.  184,  where  he  gives  the  details 
of  a  Massachusetts  specimen  —  a  fine  male  bird  shot 
by  Mr.  Gordon  Plummer,  in  Brookline,  on  the  29th 
of  May  of  this  year.  There  is  no  doubt  that  recorded 
occurrences  in  lower  New  England  will  multiply  as 
time  goes  on. 


Z.    LUDOVICIANA  I    ROSE-BREASTED    GROSBEAK.       285 

ROSE-BREASTED    GROSBEAK. 

ZAMELODIA*   LUDOVICIANA.  (Z.)  Coues. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Head,  neck,  and  most  upper  parts,  black  ; 
rump,  upper  tail-coverts,  and  under  parts,  white ;  the  breast  and 
under  wing-coverts  rosy  or  carmine  red ;  wings  and  tail  black, 
varied  with  white  ;  bill  whitish  ;  feet  dark.  Young  males  have 
at  first  a  plumage  resembling  that  of  the  female,  but  the  rosy  of 
the  breast  comes  with  the  first  feathering.  Female  :  Those  parts 
which  in  the  male  are  black  are  streaked  with  blackish  and  olive- 
brown  or  flaxen-brown  ;  the  crown  with  a  median  white  stripe  ; 
a  white  supraciliary  stripe  ;  under  parts  white,  more  or  less  tinged 
with  fulvous  and  streaked  with  dusky  ;  upper  wing-coverts  and 
inner  wing-quills  with  a  white  spot  at  the  end  ;  under  wing-coverts 
saffron  yellow  ;  bill  not  whitish.  Length,  7.50-8.50  ;  extent,  13.00  ; 
wing,  about  4.00  ;  tail,  3.25. 

The  elegant  Rose-breasted  Grosbeak,  famous  for 
brilliancy  both  of  song  and  plumage,  is  a  common 
summer  resident  of  New  England  as  far  north  as 
Massachusetts,  becoming  less  numerous  farther  north, 
but  extending  practically  over  all  the  Eastern  States. 
Entering  Connecticut  early  in  May,  and  soon  being 
distributed  in  their  summer  homes,  the  beautiful  birds 
nest  in  June,  and  usually  make  haste  to  retire  before 
the  chilly  weather  of  September;  though  in  some 
exceptional  cases  loiterers  have  been  found  even  in 
November.  The  distribution  of  the  birds  is  local, 
even  in  latitudes  where  as  a  whole  the  species  is  abun- 
dant. The  favorite  haunts  of  the  bird  are  the  thick- 
est undergrowth  of  heavily-timbered  tracts,  especially 
'near  water,  and  where  the  saplings  and  shrubbery 
offer  that  protection  from  observation  which  the  birds 
so  sedulously  court.  Sometimes,  however,  they  enter 
*  See  Coues,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v,  1880,  p.  98. 


286  FRINGILLID^S  I    FINCHES. 

cultivated  grounds,  and  their  presence  near  the  house 
is  likely  to  be  soon  betrayed  by  the  rich  and  power- 
ful voice  of  the  male.  The  following  picture  of  the 
secluded  home  of  the  birds  is  given  by  Dr.  Coues  from 
observations  made  on  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  but 
is  no  less  applicable  to  New  England  : 

"  On  entering  the  belt  of  noble  timber  that  borders 
the  river,  in  June,  we  are  almost  sure  to  be  saluted 
with  the  rich  rolling  song  of  the  rose-breasted  male ; 
and  as  we  penetrate  into  the  deeper  recesses,  pressing 
through  the  stubborn  luxuriance  of  vegetation  into  the 
little  shady  glades  that  the  bird  loves  so  well,  we  may 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the  shy  and  retiring  female,  darting 
into  concealment,  disturbed  by  our  approach.  She  is 
almost  sure  to  be  followed  the  next  moment  by  her 
ardent  spouse,  solicitous  for  her  safety,  bent  on  re- 
assuring her  by  his  presence  and  caresses.  Sometime 
during  this  month,  as  we  enter  a  grove  of  saplings, 
and  glance  carefully  overhead,  we  may  see  the  nest, 
placed  but  a  few  feet  from  the  ground,  in  the  fork  of  a 
limb.  The  female,  alarmed,  will  flutter  away  stealth- 
ily, and  we  may  not  catch  another  glimpse  of  her,  nor 
of  her  mate  even,  though  we  hear  them  both  anxiously 
consulting  together  at  a  little  distance.  The  nest  is 
not  such  an  elegant  affair  as  might  be  desired ;  it  is, 
in  fact,  bulky  and  rude,  if  not  actually  slovenly.  It 
is  formed  entirely  of  the  long,  slender,  tortuous  stems 
of  woody  climbers,  and  similar  stout  rootlets  ;  the  base 
and  outer  walls  being  very  loosely  interlaced,  the  inner 
more  compactly  woven,  with  a  tolerably  firm  brim  of 
circularly  disposed  fibres.  Sometimes  there  is  a  little 
horse-hair  lining,  oftener  not.  A  very  complete  nest 
before  me  is  difficult  to  measure,  from  its  loose  out- 


CARDINALIS  VIRGINIANA  !    CARDINAL  GROSBEAK.      287 

ward  construction,  but  may  be  called  six  inches  across 
outside,  by  four  deep;  the  cavity  three  inches  wide, 
by  one  and  a  half  deep.  The  nest  contained  three 
eggs,  which  I  think  is  the  usual  number  in  this  lati- 
tude ;  four  I  have  found  only  once.  The  eggs  are 
usually  rather  elongate,  but  obtuse  at  the  smaller  end. 
Different  specimens  measure  i.oo  by  0.75,  1.08  by 
0.70,  1.03  by  0.75,  1.02  by  0.72,  0.96  by  0.76;  by 
which  dimensions  the  variation  in  shape  is  denoted. 
The  average  is  about  that  of  the  first  measurement 
given.  They  are  of  a  light  and  rather  pale  green 
color,  profusely  speckled  with  dull  reddish-brown,  usu- 
ally in  small  and  also  rather  diffuse  pattern,  but  some- 
times quite  sharply  marked  ;  the  sharper  markings  are 
usually  the  smallest.  There  is  sometimes  much  con- 
fluence, or  at  least  aggregation,  about  the  greater  end,, 
but  the  whole  surface  is  always  marked." 

This  Grosbeak  possesses  all  the  qualifications  for  a- 
cage-bird,  including  the  readiness  to  submit  to  con- 
finement, and  the  vigor  to  stand  it.  It  may  easily  be 
tamed  if  properly  treated,  and  sometimes  displays  real 
affection  for  those  who  minister  to  its  wants,  together 
with  a  variety  of  interesting  traits. 


CARDINAL   GROSBEAK. 

CARDINALIS   VIRGINIANA  Bj>. 

Chars.  Male  :  Vermilion  red,  obscured  with  ashy-gray  on  the  back, 
the  region  about  the  base  of  the  bill  black,  including  an  exten- 
sive throat-patch ;  bill  reddish  ;  feet  brown  ;  head  conspicuously 
crested.  Female  much  more  subdued  in  color,  being  ashy-brown 
or  drab  color,  paler  below,  with  evident  traces  of  red  on  the 
crest,  wings,  tail,  and  under  parts.  Length,  8.00  or  more  ;  ex- 
tent, 11.25  ;  wing,  3.50  ;  tail  about  4.00.  Female  rather  smaller. 


288  FRINGILLID^E  I    FINCHES. 

Being  essentially  a  bird  of  the  Carolinian  Fauna, 
the  splendid  Cardinal  only  occurs  normally  in  the 
lower  Connecticut  valley,  in  exceptional  cases  reach- 
ing Massachusetts,  beyond  which  it  is  hardly  known  to 
have  proceeded.  Even  in  Connecticut  it  is  one  of  the 
rarest  birds,  though  there  scarcely  to  be  considered  as 
merely  "accidental."  One  who  secures  a  Cardinal  in 
New  England  should  make  sure,  if  possible,  that  it  is 
not  an  escaped  cage-bird,  repeated  cases  of  the  cap- 
ture of  which  have  been  reported. 

For  its  occurrence  in  Massachusetts,  see  Allen,  Am. 
Nat.,  iii,  1869,  p.  635,  and  Bull.  Essex  Inst.,  x,  1878, 
p.  18.  A  Nova  Scotian  case  is  reported  by  Jones  (Am. 
Nat.,  v,  1871,  p.  176). 

It  is  a  wild,  shy  inhabitant  of  the  thickest  shrub- 
bery, though  conspicuous  even  in  such  secluded  re- 
sorts by  the  intensity  of  its  coloration,  the  power  of 
its  voice,  and  the  great  activity  of  its  disposition.  It 
lays  rather  a  peculiar  egg,  some  specimens  resem- 
bling those  of  a  Night-hawk  in  coloration,  others  those 
of  the  Rose-breasted  Grosbeak.  The  ground  is  white, 
spotted  with  any  shade  of  brown  from  pale  reddish 
to  dark  chocolate,  but  the  coloration  is  usually  quite 
heavy,  with  many  purplish-brown  or  stone-gray  shell 
markings.  The  markings  vary  from  uniform  fine  dot- 
ting or  marbling  to  heavy  spotting,  but  there  are  rarely 
large  blotches.  The  size  is  an  inch  or  a  little  more, 
by  rather  less  than  three-fourths  of  an  inch.  The 
nest,  composed  of  strips  of  grapevine,  or  other  pliable 
bark,  twigs,  leaves,  and  grasses,  is  rather  loosely 
built,  generally  in  a  thicket  of  briars  or  in  a  low  tree, 
—  therefore  near  the  ground,  and  preferably  in  the 
vicinity  of  water. 


P.   ERYTHROPHTHALMUS  :    TOWHEE    BUNTING.       289 

TOWHEE    BUNTING. 

PlPILO    ERYTHROPHTHALMUS    (Z.)    V. 

Chars.  Male  :  Black,  with  white  [belly,  chestnut  sides,  and  fulvous 
under  tail-coverts;  primaries  and  inner  secondaries  with  white 
touches  on  the  outer  webs  ;  several  lateral  tail-feathers  marked 
with  white  in  decreasing  amount ;  bill  blackish  ;  feet  brown  ;  iris 
red.  Female  :  Rich  warm  brown  where  the  male  is  black  ;  other- 
wise similar.  At  a  very  early  age,  both  sexes  have  a  streaky  plu- 
mage, which  soon  gives  way  to  the  sexual  characters  first  men- 
tioned. Length,  about  8.50  ;  extent,  11.00  ;  wing,  3.50  ;  tail,  4.00  ; 
bill,  0.55  ;  tarsus,  i.oo. 

The  last  of  the  large  Finch  family  which  we  have 
to  notice  is  a  common  summer  resident  of  the  Caro- 
linian and  Alleghanian  Faunag,  becoming  less  numer- 
ous in  the  Canadian,  in  the  unsettled  portions  of  which 
it  is  hardly  to  be  found,  but  still  generally  distributed 
in  New  England.  It  arrives  at  the  end  of  April,  and 
remains,  in  southern  districts  at  least,  all  through  Oc- 
tober. An  exceptional  case  of  occurrence  in  January 
has  been  noted.  It  is  a  vivacious  and  rather  jaunty 
tenant  of  shrubbery  and  undergrowth  of  all  kinds,  de- 
riving its  curious  names  of  "  Towhee  "  and  "  Chevvink  " 
from  the  sound  of  its  characteristic  notes.  By  some  it 
is  called  "Marsh  Robin,"  the  color  of  the  sides  being 
something  like  that  of  a  Robin's  breast,  and  the  de- 
cided preferences  of  the  bird  being  for  low,  watery  situ- 
ations. The  nest  is  regularly  placed  on  the  ground,  at 
the  foot  of  some  bush  or  stump,  or  under  a  fallen  log, 
but  the  Towhee  takes  occasionally  a  fancy  to  nest  in  a 
bush  or  sapling,  some  feet  from  the  ground.  The  nest 
is  rather  a  rude  structure  of  grapevine  bark,  twigs, 
weedstalks,  leaves,  and  grasses,  lined  with  finer  grasses 


290  FRINGILLID^E  :    FINCHES. 

and  rootlets.  The  eggs  are  usually  four  or  five  in  num- 
ber, measuring  about  0.95x0.70;  the  ground  color  is 
white,  but  thickly  and  uniformly  freckled  in  fine  pattern 
with  reddish-brown.  Two  broods,  I  believe,  are  usu- 
ally reared,  the  first  set  of  eggs  being  often  found  in 
May.  As  to  the  manners  of  the  bird,  says  Dr.  Coues  : 
"  As  we  walk  along  the  weedy  old  '  snake '  fences  and 
thick  hedges,  or  by  the  briary  tracts  marking  the  course 
of  a  tiny  water-thread  through  a  field,  scores  of  hum- 
ble gray  Sparrows  flit  before  us  ;  while  ever  and  again 
the  jaunty  Towhee,  smartly  dressed  in  black,  white, 
and  chestnut,  comes  into  view,  flying  low,  with  a  saucy 
flirt  of  the  tail,  and  dashes  again  into  the  covert  as 
quickly  as  it  emerged,  crying  ' toiu-hee^  with  startling 
distinctness.  In  the  spring  it  is  less  conspicuous,  and 
more  likely  to  be  found  in  low  tangled  woods,  amid 
laurel  brakes  and  the  like,  on  the  ground  rustling  and 
busily  scratching  the  matting  of  last  year's  leaves  that 
covers  the  earth,  doubtless  in  search  of  insects.  Its 
notes  are  then  louder,  and  oftener  heard." 

NOTE. 

The  following  species  of  the  Finch  family  have  been  artificially 
introduced  : 

1.  THE  PARASITE.     Passer  domestictis.    The  House  Sparrow,  which 

was  unfortunately  introduced  some  years  ago,  has  become  thor- 
oughly naturalized,  and  by  repeated  importations  and  unchecked 
natural  increase,  now  abounds  in  most  parts  of  New  England, 
with  great  prejudice  to  native  birds,  with  injury  to  the  orchard, 
garden,  and  farm,  and  with  annoyance  to  most  persons  ;  without 
rendering  the  services  expected  of  it  in  the  way  of  destroying 
noxious  insects.  A  premium  on  their  heads  would  be  wise  legis- 
lative action. 

2.  MOUNTAIN   FINCH.     Passer   montanus.     This   European    species 

has  also  been  introduced. 


NOTES.  291 

The  five  following  exotic  species  of  this  family  have  actually  been 
taken  in  New  England,  as  ferce  natures,  but  claim  no  proper  place 
in  the  list,  being  undoubtedly  imported.  They  are  all  frequently 
brought  to  this  country  as  cage-birds;  but,  though  some  of  them 
may  be  occasionally  set  at  liberty,  none  appear  to  be  naturalized, 
like  the  House  Sparrow  and  Migratory  Quail : 

1.  EUROPEAN  GOLDFINCH.    Carduelis  elegans.     "  Repeatedly  taken 

or  observed  in  a  wild  state,  under  circumstances  that  seem  to 
render  it  probable  that  the  individuals  were  not  escaped  cage- 
birds.  Whether  or  not  introduced  originally  by  man's  agency, 
I  consider  seriously  open  to  question."  {Allen.}  (Allen,  Bull. 
Essex  Tnst.,  x,  1878,  p.  36;  Massachusetts.  Brewer,  Pr.  Bost. 
Soc.,  xx,  1879,  P-  27J  »  Massachusetts.  Allen,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club, 
v,  1880,  p.  120;  Massachusetts.) 

2.  SERIN  FINCH.     Serinus  meridionalis.    European.    Once  observed 

in  Massachusetts.  (Allen,  Am.  Nat,  iii,  1870,  p.  635.  Allen,  Bull. 
Essex  Inst,  x,  1878,  p.  36.  Allen,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v,  1880,  p. 
1 20.) 

3.  Critkagra  butyracea.    African.    Once  observed  in  Massachusetts, 

at  South  Scituate,  February,  1879.    (Brewer,  Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xx, 

1879,  p.  271.    Allen,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v,  1880,  p.  120.) 

4.  Amadina  riibronigra.    African.    Once  observed  in  Maine.   (Allen, 

Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v,  1880,  p.  120.) 

5.  Gubernatrix  cristatella.    A  well-known  South  American  species, 

once  taken  in  Rhode  Island.     (See  Allen,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v, 

1880,  p.  240.) 


292  ICTERID^E  :    AMERICAN    STARLINGS. 


FAMILY  ICTERID^E  :  AMERICAN  STARLINGS. 

BOBOLINK. 

DOLICHONYX    ORYZIVORUS    (L.)   SlV. 

Chars.  Male,  in  breeding  plumage  :  Black  ;  nape  buff;  scapulars, 
rump,  and  upper  tail-coverts,  ashy-white  ;  middle  of  back  streaked 
with  black,  buff,  and  ash  ;  outer  quills  edged  with  yellowish  ;  bill 
blackish  ;  feet  brown.  Male  in  fall,  female,  and  young,  entirely 
different :  Yellowish-brown  above,  brownish-yellow  below  ;  upper 
parts  and  sides  below  streaked  with  black  ;  crown  with  median  and 
lateral  light  stripes  :  wings  and  tail  dusky,  with  pale  edges  of  the 
feathers  ;  bill  brown.  The  male  changing  plumage  confuses  the 
characters  of  both  sexes.  Length  of  male,  7.00-7.50  ;  extent, 
11.50-12.25  ;  wing,  3.50-4.00  ;  tail,  2.50-3.00  ;  tarsus,  about  i.oo  ; 
middle  toe  and  claw,  about  1.25.  Female  smaller:  Length,  6.50- 
7.00;  extent,  10.50-11.25;  wing,  3.25-3.50. 

Early  in  May  the  Bobolink's  "  mad  music "  begins 
to  be  heard  in  the  meadow,  and  the  phantasy  goes  on 
unchecked  until  the  revellers  are  sobered  at  last  by 
the  care  which  rides  so  closely  after  the  "fall  into 
generation  ; "  then  the  players  throw  off  their  black 
dominos,  the  medley  ceases,  and  the  carnival  is  over. 
Whilst  the  males  are  in  their  jaunty  attire  of  black, 
white,  and  buff,  bubbling  over  with  exhilaration,  rival- 
ling each  other  in  a  thousand  extravagancies,  and  so 
emulous  of  individual  preferment  at  all  hazards,  the 
reticent  females,  with  an  eye  to  more  substantial  em- 
pire, are  thoughtfully  tying  knots  in  the  grass  to  trip 
up  the  unwary  feet  of  their  future  very  humble  ser- 


DOLICHONYX    ORYZIVORUS  :    BOBOLINK.  293 

vants.  Robert  is  naturally  restive,  and  with  proper 
spirit  holds  out  as  long  as  he  can ;  but  the  reformation 
goes  on  steadily.  Before  the  summer  is  over  he  is 
plain  Bob,  and  quite  as  shabby  as  his  housekeeper, 
with  scarcely  a  wink  to  tip  to  his  former  jolly  com- 
panions. However,  they  are  all  in  like  plight;  and 
in  despair  of  holding  up  their  heads  any  longer  in  good 
society,  they  bundle  off  south  with  their  numerous  pro- 
geny, travelling  mostly  by  night  to  elude  observation. 
Some  still  dark  night,  late  in  August  or  early  in  Sep- 
tember, you  may  know  that  the  play  is  played  out, 
hearing  the  chink-link-ink  from  the  upper  air  as  the 
birds  speed  on  ;  that  is  the  tinkle  of  the  bell  that  rings 
the  curtain  down  on  the  last  act. 

Reaching  "fresh  fields  and  pastures  new,"  the  Lin- 
coins  in  disguise  assume  the  name  of  Reed-birds,  and 
under  this  alias  find  leisure,  doubtless,  to  reflect  on 
what  might  have  been  had  they  always  kept  sober. 
It  does  not  seem  to  disturb  them,  however,  and  cer- 
tainly does  not  impair  their  digestion.  They  grow  fat 
and  lazy  in  the  abundance  of  the  harvest  that  autumn 
brings  to  the  good  and  bad  alike,  seizing  the  day  with 
true  Horatian  ease;  and  all  those  which  successfully 
run  the  gauntlet  of  the  gunners  from  Maine  to  the 
West  Indies,  are  by  the  following  spring  quite  ready 
to  return  to  their  folly ;  the  "  old  boys  "  being  kept  in 
countenance  by  the  rising  generation,  which  values 
experience  not  until  it  is  bought  and  paid  for. 

While  the  extent  of  the  changes  of  plumage  of  the 
Bobolink  are  well  known,  the  very  brief  duration  of  the 
perfect  dress  may  not  be  fully  appreciated.  The  great 
majority  of  specimens  secured  in  the  black-and-white 
dress  are  not  absolutely  perfect,  many  of  the  feathers 


ICTERID^E  :    AMERICAN    STARLINGS. 

being  usually  skirted  with  yellowish  ;  and  it  is  only  for 
a  very  brief  period,  at  the  very  climax  of  the  season  in 
June,  that  faultless  featherings  may  be  found,  though 
all  the  mature  males  are  in  more  or  less  nearly  complete 
livery  before  reaching  New  England  in  the  vernal  mi- 
gration. The  late  summer  moult  progresses  with  rapid- 
ity in  parts  of  July  and  August,  and  in  most  cases  the 
black  has  entirely  disappeared  by  the  time  the  birds 
are  making  up  in  flocks,  just  prior  to  their  departure. 
Among  several  names  by  which  the  species  is  known 
is  that  of  "Skunk  Blackbird,"  from  their  resemblance 
in  color  to  the  notorious  beast  in  mention.  "Bobo- 
link" is  an  onomatopoeia,  formed  to  express  the  sound 
of  the  voice,  and  "Meadowink"  is  of  the  same  char- 
acter, with  additional  reference  to  the  places  where 
the  birds  are  chiefly  found  during  the  season  of  song. 
Bobolink  nests  are  concealed  in  the  luxuriant  herb- 
age of  meadows  with  such  instinctive  care  for  their 
safety  as  to  be  difficult  to  find  except  by  accident,  as 
when  disclosed  by  the  scythe  of  the  mower.  In  the 
Western  country  the  saying  goes  that  an  Indian  can 
hide  behind  three  blades  of  grass ;  and  the  hiding 
capabilities  of  a  tuft 'of  herbage  are  never  better  dis- 
played than  in  screening  a  Bobolink's  nest,  not  only 
from  casual  observation,  but  from  patient  search.  The 
female  is  said  to  employ  some  artifice  in  arranging  the 
spears  of  grass  about  the  structure,  as  still  further  pro- 
tection, and  she  is  careful  in  going  and  coming,  thread- 
ing her  way  shyly  through  the  herbage,  into  which 
she  flies  at  some  distance  usually  from  the  cherished 
spot.  As  the  males  at  such  times  are  singing  any- 
where about,  apparently  with  little  thought  in  the  mat- 
ter, there  is  little  or  nothing  to  focus  attention  in  one 


MOLOTHRUS    ATER  !    COW-BIRD.  295 

spot  more  than  another  in  the  waving  meadow.  The 
nest  itself  is  a  slight  grassy  cup  sunken  in  the  ground. 
The  eggs,  laid  about  the  first  of  June,  number  four  or 
five,  and  measure  about  0.90x0.65  ;  they  are  easily 
identified,  in  most  cases,  by  their  color,  aside  from 
the  circumstances  under  which  they  are  found.  The 
ground  is  a  dull  stone-gray,  or  brownish-white,  some- 
times sordid  greenish-white,  and  the  whole  surface  is 
variously  dotted,  blotched,  and  clouded  with  chocolate 
brown,  with  other  indistinct  shell-markings;  the  gen- 
eral effect  being  that  of  a  dark  heavily-colored  egg. 

During  the  spring  and  most  of  the  summer  the  Bob- 
olink is  chiefly  insectivorous  ;  but  after  that  it  feeds  on 
seeds  and  grain,  and  becomes  injurious  to  the  crops. 
Their  special  fondness  for  the  seeds  of  the  wild  oat 
occasions  their  autumnal  name  of  "  Reed-bird."  The 
return  movement  for  New  England  begins  late  in  Au- 
gust, and  is  generally  completed  during  September. 


COW-BIRD. 

MOLOTHRUS  ATER  (Bodd.)  Gray. 

Chars.  Male  :  Black,  lustrous,  with  purplish-brown  head  and  neck. 
Length,  7.50-8.00;  wing,  4.00  or  more;  tail,  3.00  or  more.  Fe- 
male smaller :  Length,  7.00-7.50  ;  wing,  3.75  ;  tail,  2.75.  Dark- 
uniform  grayish-brown,  paler  below,  with  dark  shaft-lines  on  most 
of  the  feathers.  Bill  and  feet  black  in  both  sexes.  Young  male 
at  first  like  the  female,  but  the  under  parts  decidedly  streaked. 

This  notorious  parasite,  which  occupies  in  America 
the  place  which  the  Cuckoo  fills  in  Europe,  as  to  its 
laying  its  eggs  in  other  birds'  nests,  is  a  common  sum- 


296  ICTERID^E  :    AMERICAN    STARLINGS. 

mer  visitant  to  New  England,  irrespective  of  locality. 
A  few  indeed  remain  during  the  winter,  and  the  spe- 
cies as  a  whole  may  thus  be  considered  resident ;  but 
by  far  the  greater  number,  after  flocking  for  a  while, 
in  September  and  October,  take  their  departure  for  the 
south,  to  return  again  late  in  March  or  early  in  April. 
The  species  of  the  genus  Molothrus,  of  which  there 
are  several,  offer  an  exception  to  the  rule  of  monog- 
amy among  the  highly  organized  and  morally  endowed 
families  of  Passerine  birds.  They  never  pair  like  other 
birds,  and  are  consequently  found  in  loose  company 
during  the  season  of  reproduction.  The  female  has  no 
home  of  her  own,  and  probably  no  very  close  period 
for  laying.  When  the  nesting  and  incubation  of  the 
Warblers,  Vireos,  Thrushes,  Finches,  and  most  kinds 
of  orderly  small  birds  are  going  on,  she  visits  their 
nests  by  stealth  and  leaves  her  unwelcome  card.  To 
enumerate  all  the  species  thus  intruded  upon  would 
be  to  make  out  an  extensive  and  varied  list,  especially 
full  in  the  names  of  Warblers,  Vireos,  and  Finches. 
The  Summer  Warbler  and  Maryland  Yellow-throat 
are  among  those  most  persistently  victimized.  As  a 
rule,  the  Cow-bird  lays  her  egg  with  those  smaller 
than  her  own.  The  rule  is  also  one  Cow-bird  egg  to 
a  nest;  I  have  found  three,  and  others  even  more. 
How  many  eggs  may  be  laid  by  one  female  in  a  sea- 
son is  not  known,  and  we  can  only  suppose  it  to  be 
the  usual  Passerine  number  of  four  or  five.  The  plu- 
ral eggs  in  the  same  nest  are  presumably  laid  by  dif- 
ferent individuals.  How  cunningly  Nature  sometimes 
contrives  to  carry  out  her  great  law  without  the  usual 
favoring  circumstances  of  conjugal  and  parental  affec- 
tion —  Cow-birds  being  entirely  devoid  of  these  attri- 


MOLOTHRUS    ATER  :    COW-BIRD. 

butes  —  is  witnessed  in  the  abundance  of  the  species  ; 
for  the  alien  egg  is  usually  hatched,  and  the  young 
reared  successfully  by  the  foster-parents,  even  to  the 
destruction  of  their  own  household.  One  of  the  most 
singular  things  in  the  whole  course  of  these  events  is, 
that  the  young  Cow-birds  are  wise  enough  to  know 
their  own  blood,  if  not  exactly  either  parent;  as  evi- 
denced by  their  flocking  together  as  soon  as  they 
can  fly. 

The  Cow-bird's  egg  is  easily  recognized,  in  most 
cases,  by  its  difference  from  those  with  which  it  is 
found  in  the  same  nest ;  though  sometimes  it  not  dis- 
tantly resembles  them,  as  when  laid  in  the  nest  of  a 
Towhee  Bunting,  Brown  Thrush,  or  Meadow  Lark. 
It  averages  perhaps  0.90X0.65  in  size,  and  is  dull 
white  in  ground  color,  thickly  and  more  or  less  finely 
and  uniformly  dotted,  sometimes  blotched  or  clouded, 
with  chocolate  brown. 

Mr.  Minot  has  a  paragraph  on  the  Cow-bird  which 
I  will  quote  :  "  There  is  something  ludicrous,  and  yet 
pitiable,  in  the  efforts  of  the  male  to  express  his  passions 
musically.  It  is  often  as  painful  to  hear  him  and  see 
him  as  to  converse  with  one  who  stutters  badly.  He 
ruffles  his  feathers,  spreads  his  wings  and  tail,  gives 
a  convulsive  movement  to  his  body,  and  yet  produces 
nothing  but  a  shrill,  unmusical  cluck-see.  He  often 
adds  to  this,  or  splutters  out  at  other  times,  a  chatter- 
ing call,  quite  distinct  from  that  of  any  other  bird,  or 
utters  a  few  low  guttural  notes,  not  audible  at  any  dis- 
tance. He  has  in  common  with  other  members  of  his 
family  a  loud  chuck :  but  he  is  not  wholly  destitute  of 
musical  powers.  One  may  often  hear  in  spring,  from 
the  top  of  some  tree,  a  clear,  pensive  but  rather  shrill 


ICTERID^E  :    AMERICAN    STARLINGS. 

whistle,  usually  followed  by  a  few  similar  but  falling 
notes.  These  belong  to  the  Cow-bird,  who  also  whis- 
tles sometimes  as  he  takes  to  wing." 

There  is  evidently  something  wanting  to  perfect  the 
character  of  the  Cow-bird,  thus  far  developed  imper- 
fectly and  awry.  Little  as  is  reasonably  to  be  ex- 
pected of  such  a  foundling,  he  may  perhaps  learn  to 
sing  when  he  learns  to  behave  himself.  Harmony  is 
little  likely  to  come  where  there  is  lack  of  the  love 
of  it. 


RED-WINGED    BLACKBIRD. 
AGEL^EUS  PHCENICEUS  (Z,.)  V. 

Chars.  Male  :  Uniform  lustrous  black  ;  lesser  wing-coverts  scar- 
let, bordered  with  buff.  Length,  8.00-9.00  ;  extent,  14.00-14.50  ; 
wing,  4.25-4.50  ;  tail,  3.25-4.00.  Female  :  Everywhere  streaked  ; 
upper  parts  blackish-brown,  with  pale  streaks,  forming  median 
and  supraciliary  stripes  on  the  head  ;  below,  whitish,  with  numer- 
ous sharp  dusky  streaks,  tinged  with  reddish  or  fulvous  on  the 
head,  throat,  and  lesser  wing-coverts  ;  smaller  than  the  male. 
Length,  under  8.00  ;  wing,  about  4.00  ;  tail,  3.25.  Young  male  : 
Like  the  female,  but  larger,  soon  showing  black  plumage,  and 
generally  with  bright  bay  edgings  of  the  feathers  on  the  upper 
parts. 

The  Red-wings  are  among  the  very  common  and 
familiar  birds  of  New  England  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  year,  and  quite  irrespective  of  latitude ;  but 
though  so  numerous,  they  are  somewhat  locally  dis- 
tributed in  the  haunts  that  please  them  best,  large  tracts 
of  country  being  often  not  visited.  They  are  birds  of 
the  swamp  and  the  marsh,  either  in  the  swaying  sea 
of  rushes  or  the  stubborn  brake  of  bushes,  whence 
numbers  of  them  overflow  into  low  moist  fields  and 


A.   PHCENICEUS  I    RED-WINGED    BLACKBIRD.       299 

meadows,  where  there  are  tussocks  of  rank  herbage. 
Such  are  their  summer  resorts,  as  a  rule  ;  but  the  large 
flocks  scour  the  country  previous  to  their  departure  in 
the  fall,  so  that  Blackbirds  may  be  found  anywhere  on 
open  ground.  They  are  among  the  earliest  arrivals 
in  spring,  sometimes  appearing  late  in  February,  but 
oftener  not  till  March.  After  nesting,  when  their  food 
is  largely  of  insects,  and  then  flocking  awhile,  doing 
what  damage  they  please  to  the  teeming  grain-fields, 
they  are  off  for  the  south,  late  in  October.  A  few, 
however,  linger  through  the  whole  winter  in  some 
sheltered  situations.  When  once  fairly  settled  in  their 
breeding  grounds,  they  are  quite  sedentary  birds,  but 
there  is  no  knowing  where  they  may  not  be  found,  or 
what  not  doing,  at  other  times. 

Pairing  is  accomplished  early  in  May,  though  the 
gregarious  nature  of  the  Blackbird  is  still  shown  by 
the  way  in  which  they  nest  in  communities.  One  is 
quite  as  likely  -to  find  several  nests  near  each  other  as 
a  single  one  in  a  piece  of  swamp.  The  nest  is  usually 
built  in  reeds  or  bushes  near  the  ground  ;  often  in  a 
tussock  of  grass;  sometimes  on  the  ground,  and  once 
in  a  while  at  a  considerable  elevation  in  a  tree.  It  is 
rather  bulky,  and  not  at  all  artistic,  but  the  nature  of 
the  support  usually  requires  it  to  be  firmly  fastened. 
The  materials  are  usually  strips  of  rushes  or  sedges 
externally,  with  finer  grasses,  and  sometimes  a  few 
horse-hairs,  for  lining.  Eggs  to  the  number  of  four 
or  five,  averaging  1.00x0.75,  are  laid  in  May,  and  a 
second  set  in  July.  They  are  pale  blue,  fantastically 
dotted,  blotched,  clouded,  and  scrawled  with  dark  or 
blackish-brown,  and  showing  paler  shell-spots  where 
the  bluish  substance  overlies  the  darker  pigment. 


30O  •  ICTERID^:  I    AMERICAN    STARLINGS. 

The  young  make  up  in  flocks  as  soon  as  they  are 
fairly  on  wing,  and  after  this  little  is  heard  from  the 
Blackbird  excepting  the  incessant  chuck  they  utter  as 
they  scour  about.  The  variety  of  noises,  however,  that 
a  Blackbird  can  and  does  emit  during  the  height  of 
the  season  is  as  extraordinary  as  is  the  quality  of  these 
ambitious  failures  to  sing  correctly ;  and  the  result- 
ing confusion  of  the  creaking  chorus  is  simply  inde- 
scribable. If  one,  however,  wrill  confine  attention  to 
some  single  performer  when  at  his  best,  he  will  occa- 
sionally hear  some  melodious  notes  in  the  midst  of  the 
broken-down  score. 


YELLOW-HEADED    BLACKBIRD. 
XANTHOCEPHALUS  ICTEROCEPHALUS  (Bp.)  Bd. 

Chars.  Male  :  Black,  including  the  lores  ;  head,  neck,  and  fore 
breast,  yellow;  a  large  white  wing-patch.  Length,  10.00-11.00 ; 
extent,  16.50-17.00;  wing,  about  5.50;  tail,  4.50.  Female  and 
young :  Brownish-black,  the  yellow  restricted  or  obscured,  and 
little  if  any  white  on  the  wing.  Female  much  smaller  than  the 
male.  Length,  8.50-9.00,  &c. 

Two  instances  of  the  exceptional  occurrence  of  this 
Western  bird  in  Massachusetts  have  been  noted.  One 
specimen  was  shot  in  an  orchard  at  Watertown,  Oct. 
15,  1869,  by  Mr.  Frank  Sawyer,  as  recorded  by  Mr. 
Allen  (Am.  Nat.,  iii,  1870,  636).  The  same  writer 
also  states,  on  information  received  from  Mr.  N.  Vick- 
ary,  of  Lynn,  that  two  specimens  were  shot  at  East- 
ham,  Sept.  10,  1877,  by  Mr.  Loud,  of  Salem  (Bull. 
Essex  Inst.,  x,  1878,  p.  18). 


STURNELLA   MAGNA :    FIELD    LARK.  301 

FIELD    LARK. 
STURNELLA  MAGNA  (L.)  Sw. 

Chars.  Plumage  variegated.  Feathers  of  back  blackish,  each  with 
a  terminal  reddish-brown  area  and  sharp  brownish  edges  ;  crown 
streaked  with  black  and  brown,  with  pale  median  and  supracil- 
iary  stripes  ;  a  blackish  line  behind  the  eye ;  lateral  tail-feathers 
white  ;  the  rest,  and  the  inner  quills  and  wing-coverts,  black,  scal- 
loped with  brown  or  gray ;  under  parts,  and  edge  of  wing,  bright 
yellow ;  the  breast  with  a  black  crescent ;  the  sides  and  flanks 
flaxen-brown  with  blackish  streaks  ;  bill  horn  color ;  feet  light 
brown.  Sexes  alike,  but  female  less  richly  colored.  Length  of 
male,  10.00-11.00;  wing,  5.00;  tail,  3.50;  bill,  1.25.  Female 
smaller  :  length,  9.00-9.50  ;  wing,  4.25-4.50. 

This  handsome  bird  may  be  considered  a  resident 
of  New  England  at  large,  but  the  general  statement 
requires  some  qualification  for  entire  precision.  The 
species  is  more  numerous  in  southern  than  in  north- 
ern portions,  partly  as  a  matter  of  geographical  dis- 
tribution, partly  because  its  favorite  meadows  are  fewer 
and  farther  between  in  the  wilds  of  Maine  than  in  less 
primitive  districts.  It  can  hardly  be  considered  abun- 
dant beyond  the  Alleghanian  Fauna.  In  the  next 
place,  comparatively  few  individuals  pass  the  whole 
winter  with  us,  and  then  only  in  open  seasons  or  in 
southerly  places.  The  bird  is  much  the  best  known 
as  a  migrant  and  summer  visitant,  coming  to  us  from 
the  south  early  in  the  spring  in  small  detachments, 
and  leaving  late  in  the  fall,  some  time  after  it  has  made 
up  in  the  large  flocks  which  are  commonly  seen  in  the 
latter  season. 

As  the  name  implies,  it  is  a  bird  of  meadow  and 
pasture-land,  the  haying  fields  of  southern  New  Eng- 


3O2  ICTERID^E  :    AMERICAN    STARLINGS. 

land  being  its  favorite  home  ;  it  is  also  found  in  the 
salt  marshes  as  well  as  the  fertile  tracts  of  the  interior. 
Any  suitable  stretch  of  grass-land  may  have  its  pair 
or  its  colony  of  meadow  larks,  making  very  sweet 
idyllic  music  during  the  season  of  exultation.  Great 
tenderness,  almost  pathos,  is  expressed  in  the  liquid, 
sympathetic  voice  of  these  faithful  creatures  and  de- 
voted parents.  The  saddest  and  most  reproachful 
strains  which  birds  have  ever  poured  into  my  ear  were 
uttered  for  days  in  succession  from  a  Meadow  Lark 
whom  I  had  deprived  of  his  mate  and  his  home  during 
his  brief  absence.  Not  knowing  what  had  become  of 
them,  he  called  so  incessantly,  with  such  sad  surprise 
at  no  answer,  such  mournful  beseeching  and  lamenta- 
tion, that  it  made  my  heart  ache. 

The  nest  is  made  in  such  situations  as  I  have  de- 
scribed, on  the  ground,  usually  at  the  foot  of  a  tuft  of 
grass  or  low  branching  weed,  which  serves  to  conceal 
it ;  furthermore  being  often  built  over,  so  that  there  is 
an  incompletely  globular  structure,  with  the  entrance 
at  one  side.  The  eggs  are  laid  late  in  May  and  in 
June.  They  are  four  to  six  in  number,  from  i.oo  to 
1.18  in  length  by  0.70  to  0.90  in  breadth  ;  pure  white 
in  ground  color,  finely  and  pretty  evenly  dotted  and 
sprinkled  all  over  with  bright  reddish-brown  surface 
marks  and  lilac  shell-spots.  The  male  is  tireless  in 
his  limpid  minstrelsy,  delivered  from  the  convenient 
fence-post  or  nearest  tree-top,  while  his  mate  is  busy 
in  the  grass,  and  the  scene  of  the  Lark's  summer 
home  is  one  of  rare  rural  felicity,  as  sweet  as  the  fra- 
grance of  new-mown  hay.  Later  in  the  season,  when 
the  flocks  make  up,  the  gentle,  confiding  disposition 
gives  way  to  shyness  and  reserve ;  flocks  scour  the 


ICTERUS    SPURIUS  I    ORCHARD    ORIOLE.  303 

pasture  and  stubble,  and  become  favorite  game  birds 
with  the  rising  generation  of  sportsmen,  as  they  lie 
well  in  the  grass  and  whir  up  quickly  enough  to  make 
good  objects  for  the  practice  of  shooting  on  the  wing. 


ORCHARD    ORIOLE. 
ICTERUS  SPURIUS  (L.)  Bp. 

Chars.  Male  :  Black,  with  the  lower  back,  rump,  and  under  parts 
from  the  throat,  chestnut  ;  a  whitish  wing-bar  ;  bill  and  feet 
blue-black.  Length,  6.50-7.00;  extent,  10.25;  wing,  3.25;  tail, 
3.00.  Female  :  Yellowish-olive  above  ;  yellowish  below  ;  wings 
dusky  ;  tips  of  wing-coverts  and  edges  of  inner  quills  whitish. 
Smaller  than  the  male.  The  young  male,  at  first  like  the  female, 
afterwards  confuses  the  characters  of  both  sexes. 

Although  belonging  to  a  family  of  birds  most  of  the 
members  of  which  are  far  from  rioted  for  architectural 
ability,  the  Orioles  are  distinguished  for  the  dexterity 
and  assiduity  which  they  display  in  weaving  the  most 
elaborate  pensile  nests  of  grasses  and  other  textile  ma- 
terials. The  nest  of  the  Orchard  Oriole  is  one  of  the 
most  perfect  specimens  of  these  woven  purses,  being 
generally  more  homogeneous  in  material  if  not  more: 
compact  and  substantial  than  that  of  the  Baltimore. 
It  is  sometimes  composed  entirely  of  blades  of  grass,, 
which  may  long  retain  their  greenness,  and  so  tend  to 
the  concealment  of  the  structure  in  the  foliage.  The 
nest  is  smaller,  and  not  so  deep  in  proportion  to  its 
diameter  as  that  of  the  Baltimore,  and  is  apt  to  be 
less  perfectly  pendent  from  small  twigs.  The  eggs 
are  distinguishable  from  those  of  the  Baltimore  by 
their  smaller  size,  averaging  scarcely  0.85x0.60,  and 
being  rather  spotted  than  limned  or  scrawled. 


304  ICTERID^E  I    AMERICAN    STARLINGS. 

The  Orchard  Oriole  is  rather  a  more  southerly  bird 
than  its  brilliant  relative,  at  any  rate  not  so  common 
toward  the  limit  of  its  distribution.  It  belongs  to  the 
Carolinian  and  Alleghanian,  not  the  Canadian  Fauna, 
and  is  more  abundant  in  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut 
River  than  in  other  parts  of  New  England.  It  scarcely 
reaches  our  southern  border  before  May,  and  it  is  the 
middle  of  that  month  before  the  birds  are  generally 
distributed.  The  return  movement  occurs  at  the  end 
of  summer  or  very  soon  afterward.  Massachusetts 
may  be  considered  the  usual  and  proper  northern  limit 
of  the  species,  though  it  is  occasionally  seen  in  the 
States  beyond. 


BALTIMORE    ORIOLE. 
ICTERUS  GALBULA  (Z.,  1758)  Coues. 

Chars.  Male  :  Head,  neck,  and  back,  black  ;  rump,  upper  tail- 
coverts,  most  of  the  tail-feathers,  and  under  parts,  orange  ;  mid- 
dle tail-feathers  black  ;  wings  black  ;  the  middle  and  greater 
coverts  and  inner  quills  edged  and  tipped  with  white ;  bill  and 
feet  blue-black.  Length,  7.50-8.00  ;  wing,  3.60  ;  tail,  3.00.  Fe- 
male :  Smaller  and  paler  ;  black  wanting,  or  much  obscured  by 
olive.  Young  resemble  the  female. 

This  is  one  of  New  England's  beauties  of  bird-life, 
famous  alike  for  its  flash  of  color,  its  assiduity  in 
singing,  and  its  architectural  ability.  The  "  Golden 
Robin,"  "Fire-bird,"  or"  Hang-nest,"  as  it  is  indiffer- 
ently called,  comes  to  us  in  great  numbers  during  the 
first  and  second  week  in  May,  and  soon  spreads  over 
nearly  all  the  country,  growing  rarer,  however,  as 
it  proceeds  north  of  Massachusetts,  and  wanting  in 


ICTERUS    GALBULA  :    BALTIMORE    ORIOLE.         305 

some  of  the  further  parts.  It  is  faunally  Alleghanian, 
though  decidedly  overlapping  the  Canadian.  The  re- 
turn movement  is  accomplished  in  September,  for  the 
Ictcridce,  with  some  notable  exceptions,  are  birds  of 
warm  countries,  the  Oriole  section  particularly ;  and 
the  two  brilliant  species  which  reach  New  England 
are  unfitted  to  endure  cold  weather. 

Though  so  bright  and  beautiful  a  bird  in  person, 
the  interest  which  the  Baltimore  never  fails  to  excite 
centres,  after  all,  in  the  masterpiece  of  workmanship 
which  his  clever  bill,  like  a  needle  with  the  eye  at  the 
point,  suspends  for  our  admiration  from  the  drooping 
bough  of  the  elm  tree,  under  a  canopy  of  tremulous 
foliage.  It  is  more  purse-like  or  deeply  pouched  than 
any  other  of  our  nests,  and  one  of  the  most  perfectly 
pensile  of  all.  Much  as  we  may  wonder  at  the  close 
texture  of  the  finished  fabric,  as  a  piece  of  weaving, 
our  surprise  may  be  still  greater  that  the  clever  crafts- 
men can  contrive  to  set  the  first  few  fibres  at  all  on  a 
loom  so  primitive  as  that  represented  by  the  slender 
twigs  to  which  they  are  attached.  The  materials  em- 
ployed are  of  the  most  miscellaneous  character,  pliable 
grasses  and  other  plant-strips  being  usually  mixed 
with  strings  or  scraps  of  substances  already  spun  or 
woven  by  the  art  of  man.  As  may  be  supposed,  so 
elaborate  a  fabric  is  not  the  work  of  a  day  or  two,  but 
may  require  a  week  or  more.  The  finished  affair  is 
usually  six  or  eight  inches  deep,  but  much  less  in 
breadth,  and  somewhat  contracted  at  the  mouth,  or 
pursed  out  below ;  it  is  warmly  lined  with  the  softest 
vegetable  substances  or  with  hairs.  Thus  out  of  the 
reach  of  ordinary  dangers,  and  assiduously  nurtured 
by  their  devoted  parents,  the  baby  Baltimores  rock 


306  ICTERID^E  :    AMERICAN    STARLINGS. 

happily  in  their  cradles  with  every  breeze  that  passes, 
till  they  grow  strong  enough  to  try  their  wings. 

No  very  high  praise  can  be  given  to  the  song  of 
this  Oriole,  which,  though  whistled  loud  and  clear, 
has  but  little  scope  or  variation,  and  grows  monotonous 
with  reiteration,  especially  of  the  syllables  tu-wcc, 
tu-wee.  But  we  need  not  complain  if  we  do  not  find 
all  the  accomplishments  combined  in  one  bird. 

The  eggs  of  the  Baltimore  are  from  four  to  six  in 
number,  measuring  nearly  an  inch  in  length  by  about 
0.65  in  breadth,  being  thus  rather  narrowly  elongate. 
The  ground  color  is  white,  but  seldom  pure,  being 
oftenest  shaded  with  some  neutral  tint ;  the  whole 
surface,  or  any  part  of  it,  most  irregularly  spotted, 
blotched,  clouded,  and  especially  scrawled,  with  black- 
ish-brown and  other  heavy  shades,  and  in  addition  to 
these  strong  colors  the  usual  obscure  shell  markings. 
The  scrawling  lines  that  straggle  aimlessly  and  even 
fantastically  over  the  surface  are  highly  characteristic 
of  birds  of  this  family,  and  bespeak  the  close  relation- 
ship of  the  brilliant  Orioles  to  their  humbler  relatives, 
the  Blackbirds  of  the  marsh.  The  time  for  the  eggs 
is  the  first  week  in  June. 

The  Baltimore  is  not  particular  as  to  his  residence. 
Given  trees  suitable  for  nesting  places,  it  makes  little 
difference  whether  they  are  in  the  woods  or  in  the 
heart  of  a  city  ;  yet,  as  if  proud  of  his  fine  appearance 
and  skill  at  the  loom,  he  seems  to  court  attention,  and 
the  shade-trees  of  our  streets  and  parks  are  favorite 
resorts.  Their  choice  of  all  trees  —  the  stately,  grace- 
ful elms  which  adorn  New  England  landscapes  —  have 
one  charm  more  when  fired  with  such  brilliancy 


S.   FERRUGINEUS  :    RUSTY    CRACKLE.  307 

RUSTY    CRACKLE. 

SCOLECOPHAGUS    FERRUGINEUS    (Gm.)    Sw. 

Chars.  Male,  adult :  Nearly  uniform  lustrous  black,  with  greenish 
reflections.  Seldom  seen  with  us  in  perfect  plumage,  being  gen- 
erally glossy  black,  with  nearly  all  the  feathers  edged  with  brown 
above  and  brownish-yellow  below.  Bill  and  feet  always  black. 
Female  :  Entirely  rusty  brown  above,  mixed  rusty  and  grayish- 
black  below,  with  a  pale  supraciliary  stripe  ;  quills  and  tail- 
feathers  black.  Length  of  male,  9.00  or  more  ;  extent,  14.50  ; 
wing,  4.50  ;  tail,  3.50  ;  bill,  0.75.  Female  smaller. 

Being  a  bird  of  the  Canadian  Fauna,  this  Grackle 
nests  in  northern  New  England  and  thence  far  toward 
the  Arctic  circle.  The  southern  limit  of  its  distribu- 
tion in  summer  appears  to  coincide  closely  with  that 
of  the  Fauna  just  named.  Elsewhere  it  is  chiefly 
known  as  a  migrant  in  spring  and  fall,  though  a  few 
individuals  certainly  pass  the  winter  in  the  lower  Con- 
necticut valley.  From  their  usual  winter  resorts  be- 
yond our  limits,  great  numbers  enter  New  England  in 
February  and  March,  and  may  be  observed  in  Massa- 
chusetts through  a  considerable  part  of  April,  before 
they  finally  pass  on  to  their  summer  homes.  In  the 
fall  they  return  early,  generally  in  September,  and  are 
abundant  for  a  couple  of  months.  At  all  times  when 
away  from  their  breeding  grounds  they  are  found  in 
flocks  of  greater  or  less  extent,  rambling  in  search  of 
food  over  ploughed  land  and  other  open  ground,  some- 
times by  themselves,  sometimes  associated  with  other 
Blackbirds. 

Those  who  know  the  bird  only  in  the  rusty  garb  in 
which  it  is  usually  seen  with  us,  would  be  surprised  to 


3O8  ICTERID^E  :    AMERICAN    STARLINGS. 

see  what  a  handsome  glossy  bird  the  male  is  when 
full  dressed,  with  a  sheen  to  the  plumage  scarcely 
inferior  to  that  of  the  Purple  Grackle  itself,  although 
less  variable.  According  to  Mr.  E.  A.  Samuels,  who 
examined  breeding  places  of  the  bird  on  the  Magal- 
loway  River,  in  Maine,  the  nests  are  large  structures, 
easily  seen  at  a  distance  of  some  rods  through  the 
foliage  of  the  low  alders,  overhanging  the  water,  on 
which  bushes  they  are  built.  The  nest  proper  is  con- 
structed on  a  layer  of  twigs  and  briar-stalks,  being 
composed  of  grasses  mixed  with  mud,  moulded  into  a 
firm  circular  structure,  and  lined  with  fine  grasses  and 
rootlets. 

The  eggs  of  Crackles  of  this  genus  are  quite  differ- 
ent from  those  of  Agelceus,  £>uiscalus,  and  IcteridcR 
generally,  being  flecked  and  clouded,  but  with  little 
or  no  line-tracery.  The  ground  color  is  pale  dull 
greenish,  varying  to  bluish  or  grayish,  and  this  is 
plentifully  marked  with  dark  brown.  They  vary  too 
much  in  the  character  of  the  spotting  to  be  very  con- 
cisely described.  The  size  is  about  1.05X0.75,  but 
very  variable.  They  are  not  satisfactorily  distinguish- 
able from  those  of  the  other  species  Scolccophagus 
cyanocephalus,  though  quite  different  from  those  of  any 
other  of  our  Icier  idee.  I  am  however  informed  by  Mr. 
Purdie  that  two  sets  of  eggs,  one  from  Upton,  Maine, 
the  other  from  Nova  Scotia,  do  not  closely  resemble 
those  of  the  Western  species,  being  quite  sparingly 
marked,  and  answering  more  to  the  eggs  described 
by  Dr.  Brewer,  from  Calais,  Maine,  (Hist.  N.  A. 
Birds,  ii.  p.  206).  The  number  is  presumably  four 
to  six,  though  no  one  of  thirteen  sets  examined  from 
Arctic  America  contained  more  than  four. 


QyiSCALUS    PURPUREUS  :    CROW    BLACKBIRD.       309 

PURPLE   GRACKLE;    CROW  BLACKBIRD. 
QUISCALUS  PURPUREUS  (Bartr.)  Licht. 

Chars.  Male :  Entire  plumage  iridescent  black,  with  various  pur- 
ple-green and  steel-blue  reflections.  Length,  12.00-13.00;  extent, 
about  18.00  ;  wing  and  tail,  each,  5.00-6.00,  the  former  rather 
longer  than  the  latter;  bill,  1.25;  tarsus,  1.35;  tail  graduated 
1.00-1.50.  Female:  Smaller.  Length,  about  1 1.50  ;  wing,  about 
5.00 ;  tail,  about  4.50.  Blackish-brown  in  color,  with  more  or 
less  lustre. 

Crow  Blackbirds  may  be  seen  anywhere  in  New 
England  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  being 
entirely  absent  only  in  December  and  January.  A 
few  commonly  reach  our  limits  the  latter  part  of  Feb- 
ruary, though  they  are  not  common  until  April,  unless 
it  be  in  the  extreme  south.  They  thin  out  in  Octo- 
ber, and  disappear  the  following  month.  Being  char- 
acteristic of  no  faunal  area,  they  breed  at  large  in 
New  England,  generally  assembling  for  that  purpose 
in  chosen  spots,  where  so  many  may  congregate  as 
make  quite  a  rookery,  like  some  of  their  corvine  allies 
of  Europe.  The  nest  is  placed  in  trees  at  any  height, 
preferably  conifers  or  other  thick-foliaged  kinds  ;  gen- 
erally on  the  boughs,  but  sometimes  in  a  hollow.  In 
some  sections  it  is  placed  in  hollow  stubs,  in  low  trees 
near  water,  and  even  in  bushes.  The  nest  is  loose 
and  bulky,  of  twigs  and  other  coarse  materials,  to 
which  mud  may  be  added.  The  structures  are  gen- 
erally completed  and  the  eggs  laid  by  the  latter  part 
of  May.  The  courtships  of  the  males  seem  very 
ludicrous  to  a  dispassionate  observer,  being  conducted 
with  the  most  grotesque  actions  and  attitudes,  as  well 


3IO  ICTERID^E  :    AMERICAN   STARLINGS. 

as  the  most  curious  vocalization.  After  the  breeding 
colonies  break  up,  vast  bands  of  the  Blackbirds  come 
together,  and  scour  the  country  in  search  of  food,  then 
doing  no  inconsiderable  damage  to  the  crops,  possi- 
bly not  entirely  offset  by  the  benefit  conferred  earlier 
in  the  season,  when  the  Blackbirds  are  chiefly  carniv- 
orous. 

The  eggs  of  this  species  exhibit  fully  the  scrawling 
markings  characteristic  of  the  Icteridce,  but  are  almost 
endlessly  varied  in  tone  of  ground  color  and  pattern 
of  the  markings.  Mr.  Minot  has  thrown  the  variations 
into  the  following  categories  :  (i)  Strongly  bluish,  with 
almost  imperceptible  lilac  markings,  and  a  few  spots 
and  thick  scrawls  of  blackish-brown.  (2)  Strongly 
greenish,  marked  with  dull,  faint  brown,  and  a  few 
blackish  scrawls.  (3)  Light  creamy  gray,  with  some 
scrawls  much  subdued,  as  if  washed  out,  or  washed 
over  with  the  ground  color,  and  others  heavy  and 
permanent,  suggesting  a  tremulous  handwriting  made 
with  a  very  broad-nibbed  pen.  (4)  Of  an  indefinite 
light  shade,  with  numerous  small  blotches  of  subdued, 
dull  brown.  (5)  Dirty  white,  minutely  marked  with 
light  purplish-brown,  and  one  blackish  blotch.  (6)  Very 
light  greenish,  faintly  and  evenly  marked  with  lilac 
and  dull  brown.  w  In  short,"  he  continues,  "  the  ground 
color  varies  from  a  rather  strong  bluish-green  to  various 
faint  and  indefinite  shades,  and  the  markings  (which 
are  often  coarse  scrawls  or  blotches)  from  blackish  to 
light  and  vague  colors,  all  of  which  are  for  the  most 
part  dull,  the  brightest  being  rusty  brown."  There 
is  the  usual  variation  in  the  size  and  shape,  ordinary 
dimensions  being  1.25x0.90.  Five  or  six  eggs  are 
laid. 


QUISCALUS  MAJOR:  BOAT-TAILED  CRACKLE.     311 

Some  writers  contend  that  there  are  two  kinds  of 
Crow  Blackbirds  in  New  England,  one  of  them  being 
that  lately  described  as  the  Bronzed  Grackle,  £%uis- 
cahis  purpureus  aneus.  This  is  considered  to  be  a 
spring  and  autumn  migrant  in  Southern  New  Eng- 
land, and  a  summer  resident  of  the  more  northern 
portions.  The  account  given  of  the  habits  applies  as 
well  to  one  as  to  the  other. 


BOAT-TAILED    GRACKLE. 
QUISCALUS   MAJOR  V. 

Chars.  "  <£,  1 5^-17  long  ;  wing  and  tail,  7-8 ;  bill,  about  i£  ;  gradu- 
ation of  the  tail,  under  3  inches  ;  tarsus,  nearly  2 ;  middle  toe 
and  claw,  about  the  same  ;  the  general  iridescence  green,  purple, 
cr  violet,  mainly  on  the  head.  9  astonishingly  smaller  than  the 
^,  lacking  entirely  the  great  development  of  the  tail,  and  not  to 
be  mistaken  for  $  purpureus,  being  never  so  glossy;  12-13^; 
wing,  5^-6  ;  tail,  4f~5^.  ?  and  young  apt  to  be  quite  brown,  only 
blackish  on  the  wings  and  tail,  below  grayish  brown,  frequently 
whitening  on  the  throat  and  breast.  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf 
States,  on  the  coast ;  strictly  maritime,  abundant ;  N.  regularly 
to  the  Carolinas,  frequently  to  the  middle  districts,  but  not  to 
New  England,  as  currently  reported." — (Coues.) 

The  New  England  records  of  this  Southern  States' 
bird  are  confused  and  perplexing.  It  was  distinctly 
said  by  some  of  the  earlier  ornithologists,  as  Linsley 
and  Peabody,  to  occur  in  Connecticut  and  Massachu- 
setts. Samuels's  Massachusetts  List  of  1864  speaks 
of  its  breeding  at  Cambridge,  Mass.  ;  Allen  includes  it 
in  his  List  of  1864  (Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  iv,  p.  85)  ;  and 
on  the  strength  of  these  data  Coues  gave  it  a  place 
in  1868  (Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  v,  p.  285).  Samuels,  how- 


312  ICTERID^E  :    AMERICAN    STARLINGS. 

ever,  later  omitted  it  from  his  work,  and  Allen  threw 
doubt  on  the  whole  New  England  record  (Am.  Nat., 
Hi,  1870,  p.  636)  ;  since  which  statements,  Brewer, 
Coues,  Merriam,  and  Minot,  as  well  as  Allen,  have 
declined  to  recognize  the  species  as  occurring  in  New 
England.  (See  Coues,  B.N.  W.,  1874,  p.  204  ;  Brewer, 
Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xvii,  1875,  P-  451'  an^  Bull.  Nutt.  Club, 
i,  1876,  p.  91 ;  ii,  1877,  p.  45  ;  Merriam,  Pr.  Conn. 
Acad.,  iv,  1877,  pp.  48  and  146).  Mr.  Purdie,  how- 
ever, is  inclined  to  think  that  the  record,  at  least  in 
part,  justifies  the  recognition  of  the  species  in  the  pres- 
ent connection  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  i,  1876,  p.  72  ;  ii, 
1877,  p.  12). 


CORVUS    CORAX:    RAVENo  313 


FAMILY  CORVID^E  :  CROWS  AND  JAYS. 

RAVEN. 
CORVUS  CORAX  L. 

Chars.  Color  uniform  lustrous  black,  including  the  bill  and  feet ; 
nasal  bristles  about  half  as  long  as  the  bill  ;  throat-feathers 
lengthened,  lanceolate,  disconnected.  Length,  about  24.00  ;  ex- 
tent, about  48.00;  wing,  16.00-18.00;  tail,  9.00-10.00;  bill,  2.25  ; 
tarsus,  3.00. 

The  ominous  bird  of  the  sable  plume,  whose  voice 
is  heard  so  dismally  in  works  of  the  imagination  and 
in  traditions  of  folk-lore,  holds  but  slight  place  in  the 
history  of  New  England  ornithology.  It  appears  to 
have  been  not  uncommon  a  generation  and  more  ago, 
but  is  now  certainly  one  of  the  rarities,  late  records  of 
its  appearance  being  few.  The  bird  still  breeds  occa- 
sionally on  the  cliffs  of  Grand  Menan,  and  is  of  more 
frequent  occurrence  further  north  and  east.  It  pre- 
sumably breeds  in  the  White  and  Green  Mountains. 
Mr.  Cutting  has  found  it  in  Vermont,  and  there  are  at 
least  two  recent  Massachusetts  records.  Prof.  Ten- 
ney  notices  a  specimen  at  Williamstown  (Am.  Nat., 
xi,  1877,  p.  243),  and  Mr.  Maynard  speaks  of  one 
shot  at  Tyngsboro'  (Rod  and  Gun,  vii,  Oct.  30,  1875). 
The  latter  writer  believes  (B.  of  E.  N.  A.,  p.  155) 
that  the  Raven  breeds  in  this  locality,  as  a  newly- 
fledged  individual  was  procured  by  Mr.  William  Per- 
ham,  who  states  that  he  was  positive  of  the  fact. 


CORVID^E  :    CROWS    AND  JAYS. 

COMMON   CROW. 
CORVUS  FRUGIVORUS  Bartr. 

Chars.  Color  uniform  lustrous  black,  including  the  bill  and  feet ; 
nasal  bristles  about  half  as  long  as  the  bill ;  throat-feathers  oval 
and  blended;  no  naked  space  on  cheeks.  Length  18.00-20.00; 
wing,  13.00-14.00;  tail,  about  8.00  ;  bill,  1.75-2.00  ;  tarsus,  about 
equal  to  middle  toe  and  claw. 

The  Crow  is  a  common  New  England  bird,  quite 
irrespective  of  latitude,  and  resident  throughout  our 
country.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  a  creature  of  great 
sagacity  and  full  of  resources  for  making  itself  com- 
fortable;  so  that  the  actual  dispersion,  whether  of 
single  individuals  or  of  the  great  congregations  so 
often  observed,  fluctuate  with  the  food-supply  and  the 
changes  of  weather.  It  is  on  the  whole  most  numer- 
ous in  cultivated  districts,  where  a  varied  fare  is  read- 
ily secured,  and  where  are  learned  instinctively  those 
arts  and  wiles  by  which  the  unpopular  fowl  demon- 
strates its  fitness  to  survive  in  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence. Wary  and  mistrustful  as  it  is,  skeptical  of  things 
that  are  not  what  they  seem  to  be,  its  fertility  of  inven- 
tions to  shun  delusion  is  no  more  than  necessary  to 
self-preservation ;  for  the  bird  has  a  bad  name,  which 
alone  is  a  serious  thing  to  contend  against,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  actual  damage  it  does  to  the  grain-field. 
But  I  doubt  that  even  the  proscribed  and  persecuted 
Crow  does  not  do  more  good  than  harm.  It  is  so 
omnivorous,  that  the  seedling  or  standing  crops  fur- 
nish but  a  tithe  to  its  whole  subsistence,  number- 
less forms  of  noxious  animals  being  destroyed  in  the 
Crow's  natural  walk  in  life.  In  any  event,  the  bird 


CORVUS    FRUGIVORUS  :    COMMON    CROW.  315 

seems  to  hold  its  own,  in  spite  of  strychnine  and  gun- 
powder, without  any  appreciable  disaster  to  agricul- 
ture ;  the  comely,  glistening  black  form  being  per- 
haps, after  all,  only  a  "scare-crow,"  incapable  of  any 
serious  mischief. 

The  habits  and  manners  of  Crows  depend  so  much 
upon  changeful  circumstances,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
say  much  in  a  few  words  of  the  exhibitions  of  such 
versatile  characters.  A  Crow  may  be  found  in  as 
varying  moods  as  a  man,  and  attending  to  affairs  as 
various  as  those  of  human  vanity  or  profit.  To  say 
what  a  Crow  will  be  found  about  at  any  given  time  or 
under  any  given  circumstances,  is  to  say  what  is  going 
on  in  its  mind ;  and  that  is  not  easy.  One  Crow,  in 
short,  plays  many  parts  with  great  address,  and  usu- 
ally with  entire  success.  When  a  Crow  speaks,  the 
monosyllable  is  always  to  the  point ;  its  "  caw "  is  a 
case  where  dictum  and  fiat  are  one. 

As  anecdotes  of  Crows  are  always  in  order,  I  may 
refer  to  the  story  told  by  Mr.  A.  M.  Frazar  (Bull. 
Nutt.  Club,  i,  1876,  p.  76)  of  a  Crow  which  stood 
patiently  upon  an  ant-hill  and  allowed  the  busy  insects 
to  run  all  over  him,  and  pick  off  the  parasites  which 
infested  his  body.  "The  operation,"  Mr.  Frazar  adds, 
"  seemed  mutually  agreeable  to  all  parties."  But  how 
about  the  parasites,  thus  rudely  snatched  from  happy 
homes  and  condemned  to  death? 

The  nest  is  built  in  the  woods,  preferably  in  high, 
thick  forest,  where  the  tree  selected  is  usually  one 
whose  foliage  is  thickest,  as  pine  or  cedar.  Thus  it 
happens  that  though  the  structure  is  a  large  one,  it  is 
not  so  often  observed  as  that  of  a  Hawk,  comparing 
the  relative  numbers  of  these  kinds  of  nests.  The 


3l6  CORVID^E  :    CROWS    AND  JAYS. 

altitude  is  generally  great,  the  situation  of  the  nest 
being  often  practically  inaccessible ;  and  the  parents 
show,  moreover,  much  tact  and  discretion  in  going 
and  coming.  So  it  commonly  turns  out  that  their 
housekeeping  is  a  success.  The  foundation  and  outer 
walls  of  the  nest  are  built  of  twigs  and  sticks,  some- 
times of  considerable  size,  firmly  interlaced,  with  the 
interstices  perhaps  filled  up  with  weeds  or  bunches  of 
grass  which  may  have  clods  of  earth  attached.  The 
inner  structure  is  of  grasses,  leaves,  and  strips  of 
bark,  such  as  those  from  cedar  or  grape-vines.  A 
Pennsylvania  nest  in  my  possession  is  made  entirely 
of  hogs'  bristles,  the  bird  having  built  near  a  pen 
where  pork  was  made,  and  doubtless  found  that  these 
stiff  hairs  answered  the  purpose.  Mr.  Maynard  states 
that  he  has  found  nests  in  apple-trees,  not  ten  feet 
from  the  ground.  Nesting  is  early,  —  in  May,  if  not 
in  April,  —  and  four  to  six  eggs  fill  the  nest,  meas- 
uring about  1.70x1.20,  but  being  very  variable  in 
size  and  shape.  Thus,  one  specimen  measures  1.50 
Xi-io,  another  1.90X1.10.  The  ground  color  is 
greenish  of  some  shade  ;  sometimes  quite  clear  bluish- 
green,  or  even  greenish-white,  oftener  dull  grayish- 
or  olive-green.  The  marking  varies  interminably,  but 
it  is  nearly  always  profuse,  and  more  or  less  evenly 
overlying  the  whole  surface.  It  is  some  dark  shade 
of  brown,  probably  near  reddish  or  flesh-tinted.  The 
heavy  surface  markings  greatly  preponderate  over  the 
obscure  shell  spots,  though  more  or  fewer  of  the  latter 
may  usually  be  seen.  In  rare  cases,  the  egg  is  whitish 
and  nearly  immaculate.  The  markings  tend  in  many 
samples  to  elongate  into  streaks  running  with  the  great- 
est diameter. 


CORVUS    OSSIFRAGUS  :    FISH    CROW.  317 

FISH    CROW. 
CORVUS  OSSIFRAGUS  Wtls. 

Chars.  Like  the  last.  Length,  16.00  or  less;  wing,  10.00-11.00; 
tail,  6.00-7.00 ;  tarsus,  about  equal  to  middle  toe  without  claw ; 
a  bare  space  on  cheek. 

Though  much  has  been  said  against  the  New  Eng- 
land record  of  the  Fish  Crow,  enough  of  it  is  authen- 
tic to  give  the  bird  unquestionable  right  to  the  place 
it  held  for  nearly  forty  years  before  it  was  ejected 
by  Dr.  Brewer  on  the  strength  of  his  own  opinion. 
(See  Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xvii,  1875,  P-  452;  Bull.  Nutt. 
Club,  i,  1876,  p.  91  ;  ii,  1877,  p.  46.)  In  1868,  Dr. 
Coues  spoke  of  the  bird  in  terms  the  pertinence  of 
which  has  since  been  established,  calling  it  "a  rare 
summer  visitor,  chiefly  along  the  more  southern  por- 
tions of  the  coast"  (Pr.  Essex  Inst.,  p.  286).  In  1878, 
Dr.  Brewer  reiterated  his  previous  implied  denials  of 
its  occurrence  in  New  England,  with  the  proviso,  how- 
ever, that  the  demonstration  of  -the  fact  was  only  a 
question  of  time  (Pr.  Bost.  Soc.,  xix,  1878,  p.  306). 
Satisfactory  evidence,  however,  was  then,  as  it  had 
long  been,  in  our  possession.  Dr.  Linsley  had  long 
before  given  the  bird  as  occurring  at  Stratford,  Conn. 
(Am.  Jour.  Sci.,  xliv,  1843,  p.  260)  ;  Mr.  Merriam  had 
endorsed  this  record  (Tr.  Conn.  Acad.,  iv,  1877,  pp. 
49,  145)  ;  Mr.  Brewster  had  expressed  his  confidence 
that  he  had  seen  a  Fish  Crow  at  Cambridge,  March  16, 
1875  (Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  i,  1876,  p.  19)  ;  and  "Mr.  Pur- 
die  had  given  a  summary  of  the  New  England  record 
(Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  ii,  1877,  p.  13).  Mr.  Allen,  in  his 


3*8  CORVID^E  :    CROWS    AND  JAYS. 

latest  list  (Bull.  Essex  Inst.,  x,  1878,  p.  33),  with 
good  reason  as  well  as  with  caution,  speaks  of  the 
bird  as  "  probably  rare  or  accidental "  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  adds  that  the  captures  of  specimens  at  West 
Point,  N.  Y.,  and  on  Long  Island,  "render  it  almost 
certain  that  stragglers  will  soon  be  taken  here."  Opin- 
ion aside,  the  fact  remains  that  the  Fish  Crow  is  a 
bird  of  the  Carolinian  Fauna,  hence  finding  its  normal 
northern  extension  in  the  valley  of  the  lower  Connecti- 
cut, and  occasionally  straggling  into  Massachusetts. 
(See  Zerga,  Bull.  Nutt.  Club,  v,  1880,  p.  205,  and 
Pur  die )  ibid.,  p.  240.) 


BLUE   JAY. 
CYANOCITTA  CRISTATA  (L.)  StrickL 

Chars.  Head  conspicuously  crested.  Bill  and  feet  black.  Above, 
purplish-blue  ;  below,  pale  purplish -gray,  bleaching  on  the  throat, 
belly,  and  lower  tail-coverts,  with  a  black  collar  across  the  throat, 
running  up  behind  the  crest ;  forehead  black,  with  whitish  border; 
wings  and  tail  bright  blue,  varied  with  black  ;  the  greater  wing- 
coverts,  the  secondaries,  and  most  of  the  tail-feathers,  broadly 
tipped  with  white.  Length,  11.50-12.00;  extent,  16.50-17.50; 
wing,  5.00-5.50  ;  tail,  about  the  same. 

The  Jay  is  a  very  questionable  character,  whose 
entire  lack  of  moral  dignity  and  high  principle  is 
attested  by  a  life  of  insincerity,  dishonesty,  and  profli- 
gacy, and  whose  errors  are  far  from  condoned  by  his 
fine  personal  presence.  But  the  rascal  has  assurance, 
which  is  a  great  social  lever,  a"nd  so  continues  to  hold 
his  own,  even  in  New  England,  where  he  is  perfectly 
well  known,  and  where  it  would  seem  the  bad  luck  of 
being  found  out  is  not  an  absolutely  unpardonable  sin. 


PERISOREUS    CANADENSIS  :    CANADA  JAY.  319 

The  Jay  is  oftener  observed  in  summer  than  in  win- 
ter, and  in  other  than  the  extreme  northerly  parts  of 
the  country;  nevertheless,  it  is  resident,  as  a  species, 
though  the  same  individuals  may  not  remain  perma- 
nently in  any  one  locality.  Its  rowdyish  habits  are 
too  well  known  to  require  description  ;  nor  would  such 
narrative  be  an  agreeable  one  to  fastidious  ears.  The 
bird  is  perhaps  seen  at  its  best  during  the  nesting  sea- 
son, when  least  reckless  and  abandoned,  and  again 
in  the  fall,  when  its  provident  store  of  food  gives  evi- 
dence that  it  is  not  entirely  thriftless.  The  nesting 
is  essentially  the  same  as  that  of  the  Crow,  though 
smaller  trees,  and  even  bushes,  are  often  selected, 
and  the  eggs  are  not  laid  usually  till  the  latter  part 
of  May.  The  eggs  are  very  variable  in  color.  The 
normal  shade  of  the  ground  is  pale,  dull  olive-green, 
varying  to  clearer  greenish,  and  also  to  clay-color,  or 
even  light  creamy-brown.  The  spotting  is  profuse, 
and  pretty  uniform,  though  usually  less  pronounced 
than  that  of  a  Crow's  egg,  and  sometimes  quite  obso- 
lete. The  size  is  about  1.15x0.85,  but  with  the  usual 
variation  either  way. 


CANADA  JAY. 
PERISOREUS  CANADENSIS  (Z,. 

Chars.  No  crest;  color  gray,  whitening  anteriorly,  darker  on  the 
nape ;  wing  and  tail  dark  plumbeous,  with  obscure  whitish  tips 
on  the  feathers;  bill  and  feet  black.  Length,  10.00-11.00  ;  wing, 
5.50-6.00;  tail,  about  6.00;  tarsus,  1.30;  bill,  less  than  i.oo. 
Young  birds  are  sooty  or  smoky  brown,  whitening  as  they  reach 
maturity. 


320  CORVID^E  I    CROWS    AND   JAYS. 

Unlike  all  the  other  Jays  of  America,  "Whiskey 
Jack"  is  a  boreal  and  alpine  species,  seldom  observed 
in  the  United  States  except  along  our  northern  border 
and  among  the  mountains  of  the  West.  It  is  resident 
in  northern  New  England,  and  is  apparently  one  of 
those  species,  like  the  Hudsonian  Titmouse,  whose 
range  in  the  breeding  season  defines  the  Canadian 
Fauna.  Not  being  properly  a  migratory  bird,  it  only 
casually  occurs  beyond  such  limits.  Mr.  Merriam 
makes  no  allusion  to  its  presence  in  Connecticut,  and 
Mr.  Allen's  Massachusetts  list  includes  it  only  among 
the  probabilities  of  Berkshire  County.  According  to 
Mr.  Maynard,  specimens  have  been  taken  in  June,  at 
Umbagog,  which  is  south  of  its  usual  summer  range. 
Mr.  Cutting  informs  me  that  it  breeds  in  Vermont. 
A  Maine  nest  found  by  Mr.  Boardman  is  described 
as  built  upon  a  platform  of  interlaced  twigs,  being 
closely  felted  with  mosses  and  lined  with  feathers.  An 
egg  formerly  in  my  possession,  measuring  1.17x0.80, 
was  ashy-gray,  finely  dotted  with  yellowish-brown. 
Four  or  five  are  said  to  be  the  usual  number  laid. 

In  his  recent  work,  "The  Birds  of  Eastern  North 
America,"  p.  168,  Mr.  Maynard  speaks  of  seeing  an 
individual  at  Newton ville,  Mass.,  early  in  the  sum- 
mer. Having  nearly  caught  the  bird,  he  succeeded 
in  identifying  it  beyond  question.  He  writes  that  the 
species  is  said  to  breed  in  February,  in  evergreen- 
trees.  Mr.  Lawrence  notes  a  specimen  shot  in  mid- 
summer at  Manhattanville,  New  York  Island.  This 
interesting  species  is  variously  known  as  Whiskey 
Jack,  Meat  Hawk,  Carrion  Bird,  and  Moose  Bird. 


INDEX   OF   ENGLISH   NAMES. 


Accentor,  Golden-crowned,  155. 

Large-billed,  158. 

New  York,  157. 
Blackbird,  Cow,  295. 

Crow,  309. 

Red-winged,  298. 

Yellow-headed,  300. 
Blue-bird,  68. 
Bobolink,  292. 
Bunting,  Bay-winged,  240. 

Black-throated,  279. 

Lark,  279. 

Snow,  230. 

Towhee,  289. 
Butcher-bird,  207. 
Cat-bird,  63. 
Cedar-bird,  192. 
Chat,  Stone,  67. 

Yellow-breasted,  168. 
Cherry-bird,  192. 
Chewink,  289. 
Chickadee,  83. 
Cow-bird,  295. 
Creeper,  Brown,  90, 
Crossbill,  American  Red,  221. 

White-winged,  218. 
Crow,  Common,  314. 

Fish,  317. 
Finch,  Grass,  240, 

Lark,  278. 

Mountain,  290. 

Purple,  216. 

Serin,  291. 

Gnatcatcher,  Blue-gray,  77. 
Goldfinch,  American,  226. 

European,  291. 
Crackle,  Boat-tailed,  311. 

Purple,  309. 

Rusty,  307. 


Greenlet.  Blue-headed,  203. 

Brotherly-love,  197. 

Red-eyed,  195. 

Warbling,  200. 

White-eyed,  205. 

Yellow-throated,  201. 
Grosbeak,  Blue,  284. 

Cardinal,   287. 

Pine,  214. 

Purple,  216. 

Rose-breasted,  285. 
Hair-bird,  266. 
Indigo  bird,  282. 
Jay,  Blue,  318. 

Canada,  319. 
Kinglet,  Golden-crested,  73. 

Ruby-crowned,  71. 
Lark,  Field,  301. 

Horned,  102. 

Shore,  102. 

Tit,  104. 
Linnet,  Brewster's,  225. 

Mealy  Red-poll,  224. 

Pine,  228. 

Red-poll,  222. 
Longspur,  Chestnut-collared,  234. 

Lapland,  233. 
Martin,  Purple,  189. 
Maryland  Yellow-throat,  164. 
Mocking-bird,  61. 
Myrtle-bird,  131. 
Nuthatch,  Red-bellied,  88. 

White-bellied,  87. 
Oriole,  Baltimore,  304. 

Orchard,  303. 
Oven-bird,  155. 
Pipit,  American,  104. 
Raven,  313. 
Redstart,  175. 


322 


INDEX   OF    ENGLISH    NAMES. 


Robin,  i. 

Siskin,  American,  228. 

Shrike,  Great  Northern,  207. 

Loggerhead,  209. 

White-rumped  Loggerhead,  212. 
Snow-bird,  Black,  260. 

Oregon,  263. 
Snow-flake,  230. 
Sparrow,  Brewer's,  272. 

Chipping,  266. 

Field,  269. 

Fox,  276. 

Henslow's,  245. 

House,  290. 

Ipswich,  235. 

Lincoln's,  252. 

Savanna,  238. 

Sea-side,  251. 

Sharp-tailed,  247. 

Song,  256. 

Swamp,  254. 

Tree,  262. 

White-crowned,  275. 

White-throated,  272. 

Yellow-winged,  242. 
Stone  Chat,  67. 
Summer  Yellow-bird,  122. 
Swallow,  Bank,  186. 

Barn,  181. 

Cliff,  184. 

Eave,  184. 

Rough-winged,  187. 

White-bellied,  183. 
Tanager,  Louisiana,  180. 

Scarlet,  177. 

Summer,  179. 
Thrasher,  65. 
Thistle-bird,  226. 
Thrush,  Brown,  65. 

Gray-cheeked,  59. 

Hermit,  55. 

Louisiana  Water,  158. 

Olive-backed,  57. 

Robin,  i. 

Tawny?  60. 

Varied,  53. 

Water,  157. 

Wood,  54- 
Titlark,  104. 
Titmouse,  Black-capped,  83. 

Hudsonian,  85. 

Tufted,  82. 


Veery,  60. 

Vireo,  Blue-headed,  203. 

Brotherly-love,  197. 

Red-eyed,  195. 

Solitary,  203. 

Warbling,  200. 

White-eyed,  205. 

Yellow-throated,  201. 
Warbler,  Audubon's,  133. 

Bay-breasted,  138. 

Black-and-White  creeping,  ic6. 

Black-and- Yellow,  143. 

Blackburn's,  134. 

Black-poll,  136. 

Black-throated  Blue,  127. 

Black-throated  Green,  124. 

Blue  Golden-winged,  115. 

Blue-winged  Yellow,  in. 

Blue  Yellow-backed,  108. 

Canadian  Flycatching,  173. 

Cape  May,  145. 

Chestnut-sided,  141. 

Coerulean,  129. 

Connecticut,  160. 

Green  Black-capped,  171. 

Hooded,  170. 

Kentucky,  162. 

Maryland  Yellow-throat,  164. 

Mourning,  166. 

Nashville,  117. 

Orange-crownedj  118. 

Pine-creeping,  152. 

Prairie,  147. 

Prothonotary,  109. 

Redstart,  175. 

Summer,  122. 

Tennessee,  120. 

White-throated,  113. 

Worm-eating,  no. 

Yellow,  122. 

Yellow  Red-poll,  150. 

Yellow-rumped,  131. 

Yellow-throated,  149. 
Waxwing,  Bohemian,  191. 

Carolina,  192. 
Wheat- Ear,  67. 
Wren,  Great  Carolina,  93. 

House,  95. 

Long-billed  Marsh,  99. 

Short-billed  Marsh,  100. 

Winter,  97. 
Yellow-bird,  226. 


INDEX   OF   SCIENTIFIC   NAMES. 


^Egiothus  exilipes,  224. 

linaria,  222. 

Agelaius  phceniceus,  298. 
Amadina.  rubronigra,  291. 
Ammodramus  candacutus,  247. 

maritimus,  251. 
Ampelis  cedrorum,  192. 

garrulus,  191. 

Anothura  troglodytes  hyemalis,  97. 
Anthus  ludovicianus,  104. 
Astragalinus  tristis,  226. 
Calamospiza  bicolor,  279. 
Cardinalis  virginiana,  287. 
Cardulis  elegans,  291. 
Carpodacus  purpureus,  216. 
Centrophanes  laponicus,  233. 

ornatus,  234. 
Certhia  familiaris,  90. 
Chondestes  grammicus,  278. 
Chrysomitris  pinus,  228. 
Cistothorus  stellaris,  100. 
Corvus  corax,  313. 

frugivorus,  314. 

ossifragus,  317. 
Coturniculus  henslowi,  245. 

passerinus,  242. 
Cotile  riparia,  186. 
Crithagra  bitty  racea,  291. 
Cyanocitta  cristata,  318. 
Dendrceca  aestiva,  122. 

auduboni,  133. 

blackburnae,  134. 

castanea,  138. 

ccerulea,  129. 

coerulescens,  127. 

coronata,  131. 

discolor,  147. 

dominica,  149^ 

maculosa,  143. 


Dendroeeca  palmarum,  150. 

pennsylvanica,  141. 

pinus,  152. 

striata,  136. 

tigrina,  145. 

virens,  124. 

Dolichonyx  oryzivorus,  272. 
Eremophila  alpestris,  102. 
Geothlypis  Philadelphia,  166. 

trichas,  164. 

Gubernatrix  cristatella,  291. 
Guiraca  coerulea,  284. 
Harporhynchus  rufus,  65. 
Helminthophaga  celata,  118. 

chrysoptera,  115. 

leucobronchialis,  113. 

perigrina,  120. 

pinus,  in. 

ruficapilla,  117. 

Helmintherus  vermivorus,  no. 
Hirundo  erythrogastra  horreorum,  181. 
Icteria  virens,  168. 
Icterus  galbula,  304. 

spurius,  303. 
Iridoprocne  bicolor,  183. 
Junco  hyemalis,  260. 

Oregon  us,  263. 
Lanius  borealis,  207. 

ludovicianus,  209. 

ludovicianus  excubitorides,  212. 
Linota  flavirostris  brewsteri,  225. 
Lophophanes  bicolor,  82. 
Loxia  curvirostra  americana,  221. 

leucoptera,  218. 
Melospiza  fasciata,  256. 

lincolni,  252. 

palustris,  254. 
Mimus  carolinensis,  63. 

polyglottus,  61. 


324 


INDEX    OF    SCIENTIFIC    NAMES. 


Mniotirta  varia,  106. 
Molothrus  ater,  295. 
Orpornis  agilis,  160. 

formosa,  162. 
Parula  americana,  108. 
Parus  atricapilius,  83. 

hudsonicus,  85. 
Passer  domesticiis^  290. 

tnontanus,  290. 
Passerculus  princeps,  235. 

savana,  238. 
Passerella  iliaca,  276. 
Passerina  cyanea,  282. 
Perisoreus  canadensis,  319. 
Petrochelidon  lunifrons,  184. 
Pinicola  enucleator,  218. 
Pipilo  erythropthalmus,  289. 
Plectrophphanes  nivalis,  230. 
Polioptila  coerulea,  77. 
Pooecetes  gramineus,  240. 
Progne  subis,  189. 
Protonotaria  citrea,  109. 
Pyranga  sestiva,  179. 

ludoviciana,  180. 

rubra,  177. 
Quiscalus  major,  311. 

purpureus,  309. 
Regulus  calendula,  71. 

satrapa,  73. 
Saxicola  oenanthe,  67. 
Scolecophagus  ferrtigineus,  307. 
Serimts  meridionalis,  291. 
Siurus  auricapillus,  155. 

motacilla,  158. 

naevius,  157. 


Setophaga  ruticilla,  175. 
Sialia  sialis,  68. 
Sitta  canadensis,  88. 

carolinensis.  87 
Spiza  americana,  279. 
Spizella  agrestis,  269.' 

breweri,  272. 

domestica,  266. 

monticola,  263. 

Stelgidopteryx  serripennis,  187. 
Sturnella  magna,  301. 
Telmatodytes  palustris,  99. 
Thryothorus  ludovicianus,  93. 
Troglodytes  domesticus,  95. 
Turdus  fuscescens,  60. 

migratorius,  51. 

mustelinus,  54. 

naevius,  53. 

pallasi,  55. 

swainsoni,  57. 

swainsoni  aliciae,  59. 
Vireo  flavifrons,  201. 

gilvus,  200, 

noveboracensis,  205. 

olivaceus,  195. 

philadelphicus,  197. 

solitarius,  203. 
Wilsonia  canadensis,  173. 

mitrata,  170. 

pusilla,  171. 

Xanthocephalus  icterocephalus,  300. 
Zamelodia  ludoviciana,  285. 
Zonotrichia  albicollis,  272. 

leucophrys,  275. 


THIS   BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE   LAST  DATE 
STAMPED   BELOW 


RENEWED  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  IMMEDIATE 
RECALL 


LIDhMlM 

1971 

JUL  1  8  REC'D 


LIBRARY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

Book  Slip-50m-8,'66(G5530s4)458 


N2  466369 


Stearns,  IT. A. 

New  England  bird 
life. 


QL683 
N6? 
S78 
pt.l 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF   CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


